


Connie Swap Episode 23: Only Yesterday

by br42, BurdenKing, MjStudioArts



Series: Connie Swap [23]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Anxiety, Art, Deaf, Deaf Character, Drama, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Gen, Momswap, Pictures, Platonic Romance, Slice of Life, Steven Universe AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-06
Updated: 2018-06-20
Packaged: 2019-05-18 19:23:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14858765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42, https://archiveofourown.org/users/BurdenKing/pseuds/BurdenKing, https://archiveofourown.org/users/MjStudioArts/pseuds/MjStudioArts
Summary: Citrine fought so that gems could have the freedom to choose on Earth, and yet Connie is time and again confounded by some of the choices her mother made. The dangerous thing about asking questions is, sometimes you get answers.





	1. Shadow of a Doubt

Connie stared at the portrait. She didn't particularly want to but it had a kind of gravity to it that kept drawing her gaze.

It was late. She should be sleeping. Everyone else was.

Okay, Peridot probably wasn't. After last week's Pyra-and-Malachite event, Peridot's time was split pretty evenly between Connie, Crystal Gem business, and trying to restore more functionality to her damaged limb enhancer. Not that she'd slept often before, but she was almost certainly up now.

Jasper was up. Connie had lost track of her today but then she was most likely patrolling. She'd been doing a lot of that ever since she came back a few days ago.

Lapis was sleeping. She'd been doing a lot of that ever since she'd come back from 'screaming into a pillow' somewhere in the Pacific ocean.

Steven was sleeping. He'd gone home that evening and he'd texted her good night a few hours ago.

Her dad was sleeping. So was Priyanka. Given that she'd met them for lunch, it was likely they were both sleeping in his apartment. She tried not to think on that too hard.

And here she was, staring at her mom's portrait past midnight, her mind restless. _Why did you make the choices you made? How can you be the amazing leader and planetary savior I'm told you were, and still leave everyone with... me? Just me. No instructions. No direction. Just a baby with a gemstone. What don't I know? What big, important things should I be doing that you never bothered-_

Her mattress shifted as something pressed down on it. She wasn't wearing her hearing aids but she assumed there was an accompanying 'creak' as well. Hastily wiping the corners of her eyes, Connie propped herself up on her elbow and saw Wolf resting his large head on the mattress, looking at her with big puppy dog eyes that reflected moonlight.

Now that he had her attention, Wolf sat up and wagged his tail. She 'heard' him panting even though it was her brain, not her ears, filling the silence. Then he made a little head dip --the same motion as when he was trying nose a door open-- and looked at her expectantly.

She smiled and patted the bed beside her, scooting over. As far as yellow-colored intrusions on her sleep, Wolf was a definite trade up.

Wasting no time, he flopped down on his side next to her, taking up most of the bed and resting with his head on her pillow. A heavy paw draped over her side. Connie blinked, then let out a soft chuckle, accepting the snuffling her hair received.

She was petting his belly softly when a yawn escaped her. Rolling onto her side, she was snuggled by her large companion. She felt relaxed. The treadmill her thoughts had been running on slowed to a halt. She took a deep breath and her eyes fluttered close. 

Finally, sleep found her.

* * *

_* DoMa - 9:53am | Steven and I are at the Big Donut. Be warned: there are kitten pictures._

Connie pocketed her phone, touched her ears (hearing aids present), touched her hip (she was wearing her saber), felt her chest (she had the power sink around her neck), then gripped the straps of her backpack. 

Ready for her mission, she walked out the door.

* * *

"Um, six-point-five."

Steven nodded, jotted down the score, then swiped on his phone and showed her a pair of kittens tangled in yarn. They were looking not so much guilty as bewildered.

Without explicitly meaning to, an 'ahhh' escaped Connie. "That's a nine."

Another score tallied and Steven put the phone away. "Okay, bad vibes detection system is ready," he announced. Turning and looking out the window, he added, "Oh, and it looks like they finally got Sour Cream's cool DJ banner hung back up."

Connie and he were riding in the back of her dad's car, her friend having had all three of them rate cute kitten pics to get a general 'cuteness appreciation' score for them. His logic was, after they visited the quarry, if their C.A. score went down, it probably meant they'd been exposed to too much feel-bad radiation.

Driving one-handed, her dad finished a bite of donut and said, “I overheard it took the mayor five days of cajoling to get the crew to come back to that water tower.” He took another bite, swallowed, and added with a chuckle, “Turns out most people think this town is weird or something.”

Addressing the car, Steven said, “Before we moved here, I thought Beach City was some kind of gem-themed reenactment place, like a Ren Fest only with monsters. I didn’t think it was really for real.” He scratched the back of his neck and said, “I thought Aunt Vidalia had an art booth she sold her paintings from, like those people who sell swords or dragon figurines.”

This prompted a lively exchange of what such a park would actually be like, and before Connie knew it her dad had pulled off the road and parked.

They were here.

The three of them passed the quartet of warning signs, one from each of the gems. Connie and her dad both had to stare at the teak sign painted in expressive yellow letters before they continued on their way.

If the quarry had been warm when she’d first visited with Sadie and the Cool Kids in February, if it had been hot when she returned with her dad and Steven in May, then it was sweltering visiting in mid-July. Everyone was sweating and they hadn’t even made it to the quarry floor when Connie’s gemstone had started to glow softly. 

_That doesn’t bode well,_ she thought as she felt the wave of negative emotions wash over and through her.

“I think I can feel those kittens becoming less cute,” drawled her dad, grim-faced and alert.

The sudden flare of light from her gemstone, or the intense prickles of heat on her left side should have been what tipped Connie off. Instead, it was Steven staggering back a step, looking over her shoulder, and saying, “Holy moly!” that caused her to turn and-

A sudden impact knocked her to the ground. Hands hitting the rocks beneath, she rolled back and popped up ready to fight, only to see manifest darkness and countless eyes an inch in front of her face. It let out a deep groan that rose in pitch and ended as a chirp, it’s head flickering forward and nuzzling her cheek.

It looked almost… playful.

Her gemstone was blazing yellow and wreathed in a black corona as it drew in and neutralized the negative energy within her. On a whim, Connie reached down and found a stick, pulled back, and then chucked it. She couldn’t help but laugh when, in its flickering movement-without-moving way, the Nightmare Monster’s head followed the stick in flight, appeared beside it, then appeared in front of Connie, dropping it at her feet.

 _Fetch,_ she thought with a grin and she gave the stick another throw. 

The Nightmare Monster was big. Not as big as it had been when she’d first visited; probably only a quarter the size, if that. But it had grown quite a bit from when she’d been here two months ago. The sleepy baby had grown into a feisty child.

The stick returned, carried in two blinks of flickering, many-eyed darkness.

It nuzzled her again, nearly bowling her over. “Whoa. No, down. Okay, I think that’s enough playing for now.” The stygian creature stared at her quizzically and Connie got the impression it was responding to her tone more than her words.

A noise and she turned behind her to see Doug clutching the baton on his hip with a white-knuckle grip. Steven, meanwhile, looked like he wanted the ground to swallow him up, and quickly if it could be bothered.

_Right. I need to wrap this up._

Looking forward, Connie made a cooing sound and motioned the Nightmare Monster over. It appeared, literally, in front of her, part of its large head in her hand. It made a little head dip like it was trying to nudge something open, several eyes looking at her expectantly. Leaning forward she pressed her forehead and nose to what was, by a stretch of the imagination, the same for it. She felt the hot negativity course through her.

Anger. Depression. Fear. Sadness. Panic. Confusion, so much confusion, all shooting through her on its way to her gemstone, the dark aura surrounding the stone doubling and redoubling until it blazed like a torch.

Whether from practice, her powers growing stronger, or just being braced for it, the whole experience was less harrowing than it’d been in the past. On her knees, she wiped the tears from her eyes and looked down at the small thing resting in her lap. It was still, sleeping, and as she rose to standing she cradled it like a sleeping infant.

Walking carefully, she approached a pile of scree, knelt down, and gently laid the creature of oily shadow down. It stirred, flicker-moved into a crack in the rock face, and was gone from sight.

Something tickled at the back of her mind, but with a sigh she dismissed it for now. Instead she rose and walked toward the others. “Here Steven, let me get you cleaned up.” She leaned forward, touching her forehead to his as her gemstone flared brightly once more.

Fear, embarrassment, and suddenly Connie felt like she’d said something important to someone even more important and everything was ruined forever. Yeah, the earth swallowing her up right now sounded pretty good.

She had to stand there and ride it out for a bit. Steven, meanwhile, blinked and looked around as if only just now seeing the world. “Wow, I feel one zillion percent better! Thanks Connie.”

The sensation ebbing, Connie nodded and then approached her dad.

His face was drawn and he still had his hand at his weapon, his gaze flickering between the scree and his daughter. It took a few seconds of Connie staring into his eyes for him to lower his guard and head both. Their foreheads touched and then…

Anger, frustration, but mainly an ache of something missing. It cut deeper than Connie thought she could be cut, and left her staggered as the immense feeling of loss drained all the color from the world. Purging the Nightmare Monster had been like having a great wave roll over her: large, powerful, but impersonal. This was a drink of water that had gone down the wrong pipe and now she was choking on it.

How she would ever cope with the loss of something, something important, was beyond her. It seemed impossible but slowly color came back into the world. The sense of something missing diminished, and then she was able to see her dad there, ready to help her to her feet and pull her in for a hug.

During the trip back, Steven quizzed everyone and then declared their C.A. scores were within a _whisker_ of normal.

* * *

Connie and Steven were walking across the sand toward the Beach House. They’d had a celebratory lunch at Fish Stew Pizza and then her dad had offered to drive Steven home, but her friend had said he’d rather go over to her place.

As was usual after a visit to the quarry, Connie was in a thoughtful, questioning mood. “Where does the negative energy come from? Why did the Nightmare Monster grow almost none at all between February and May, and then it grew a ton between May and today?”

Steven tugged at some of his curls, staring off into the distance. “Huh, that reminds me of something Garnet said when she was being all wise-old-wizard at the sanctuary.”

She looked at Steven, seeing the teen in profile with the ocean visible beyond. “Oh?”

“Yeah, it was, um, oh! Hang on.” Her friend reached over his shoulder at the cheeseburger on his back but his fingers fell short. He then turned trying to get closer to it, but the pack moved with him, giving him a ‘dog chasing its tail’ moment. Steven stopped, blinked, gave an embarrassed chuckle, and shrugged off his backpack, blushing faintly.

Connie, meanwhile, was grinning widely. It wasn’t mean-spirited, there was just something refreshing about Steven’s overall sincere demeanor. It was part of his charm.

Fishing a pad of paper out from between the patty and cheese layers, he straightened up and flipped across pages of scribbled notes. “Ah! Here it is. I’d asked Garnet if she had any, like, mysterious clues or prophecies to share. This was when you were up on top of your mom’s statue.”

Connie tried not to beam too loudly at her friend, but it was difficult when he was being so- so- so very _Steven._

“Anyway, she said that the sanctuary can’t neutralize negative energy because it needs a gemstone like yours to do that.” He flipped a page. “So instead it just sends the energy away, leaving positive energy behind which is why it’s all calm and happy and cold there.”

Her eyebrows shot up and, without realizing it, she signed her confusion as she spoke. “But where does it send the negati-”

The two of them stared at one another for a moment before saying at once, “THE NIGHTMARE MONSTER!”

_Of course! It seemed so obvious!_

Connie was pacing, implications speeding through her mind. “I cleanse the Nightmare Monster back in February. You, me, and dad check on it in May and it hasn’t really grown. We go to the sanctuary in June and the place is all messy with backed up negative energy because-” Her eyes looked off in the middle distance while her thoughts sped along, “Because there’s, like, a magical connection between the sanctuary and the Nightmare Monster and when I cleansed him it must have blocked the pipe somehow.”

“So the sanctuary was all crazy and warm because of, like, a clogged drain?” Steven tapped his chin. “Actually, that sounds a lot like this one time at the car wash.”

She continued wearing a rut in the sand as she thought aloud. “So I fix the issue at mom’s statue and then all the negative energy is flowing correctly and now the Nightmare Monster is growing again. Which means…”

Steven blinked. “Which means I need to grab a heavy coat, doesn’t it?” Connie nodded and a beat later Steven added, “Oh, and gloves. And a scarf. Hmm, better not wear sandals either.”

* * *

The warp whistle took them to the warp pad’s last destination. They arrived at the Honeysuckle Battlefield. 

After Steven had had a chance to gawk at the giant weapons jutting out of the overgrown landscape, Connie used it to warp them back to the Beach House so they could rouse a napping Lapis. The sleepy gem warped them to the sanctuary without question beyond, “Got any snacks?” 

She warped herself back already munching on Steven’s bag of Chaaaaps.

The sanctuary was frigid and serene. Being on the other side of the globe, it was nighttime here and the pair had to navigate by flashlights and the crescent moon overhead.

Like a hound scenting the air, Connie noticed the faintest hint of warmth now and again. 

They arrived at the central building without issue beyond having to walk the long way around some frolicking Ruby monsters. They came to the giant star-shaped doorway, both of them having to point their flashlights up and gape at the scratches in the top, as though something huge and horned or scaly had squeezed through. And then they arrived at her mom’s statue, the giant likeness of Citrine sitting in untroubled repose with large, colorful pillows scattered before her. 

Connie was too unnaturally calm to do so, but a part of her recognized that in other circumstances she’d be scowling at the statue in confounded frustration.

Steven, meanwhile, made a circuit of the inner sanctum just to make sure Garnet wasn’t hiding there again for mysterious wizard reasons. Other than a few of the smaller gem monsters using the pillows to nap on, he found no one.

“I guess I don’t get the hand elevator to the top this time. Wish me luck,” said Connie. Using a quartet of sloped force fields, she scrambled her way up to the top of the statue, Steven using his flashlight to help light her path.

It was noticeably warmer up there and suddenly Connie had no trouble being annoyed at the gem whose likeness she was standing atop. Her gem glowed faintly.

With an act of will and a flare of yellow light, Connie felt _something_ happen. It was like when you sneezed with a stopped up nose and then a minute later your nostrils cleared and you found yourself able to breath deeply again. 

She could already feel the cold calmness stealing over her as she slid her way back down the fields. “I’m pretty sure that did it. Oh, and Steven?”

“Yeah Connie?”

“Can we have a talk about something? Uh, after we get back? I think I’ll need the ability to feel frustrated to do it right.”

“Oh, sure.”

* * *

Connie was ranting by the time they stepped off the warp pad and were met by a now off-shift Dogbo. She was fulminating to Steven and Wolf as they walked into her mom’s room to try and look for more clues.

Not only did Connie apparently need to regularly cleanse an ancient shadow monster that she’d only found by accident, she then had to go to the similarly ancient floating gem structure halfway across the planet to perform poorly-understood maintenance. And if she didn’t, the monster would eventually run amok and/or the sanctuary would turn into hot and cold-running chaos.

Also, she’d learned a couple weeks ago that her mom had a holodeck in her room but no one knew how to activate it. So Connie was trying now. Because if there was ever a place for her mom to leave magical ‘for Connie’s eyes only’ instructions, it’d be there. Right?

By the time Peridot called them to dinner, she’d found no answers, neither Steven nor Wolf had any solid explanations, and the stretch of patterned sand and large crystals that marked the holodeck had remained stubbornly inactive.

Connie scowled her way through the vegetarian lasagna she had that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	2. Fur-ther Investigation

Connie was laying on her stomach with a blanket draped across her lower body, trying to read a manga from Lapis’ collection. Something called _Hellsing_. She knew that Peridot made Lapis keep some of her media tucked away in her room so that an impressionable youth like Connie wouldn’t come across it, and given the violence in this one she suspected it had somehow slipped beneath the radar. Still, she was beginning to pick up on some themes that made sense of why Lapis owned it. 

Besides, Connie planned to read more-or-less until she passed out to avoid spending too much time with her own troubled thoughts. Having something new to read really helped on that front.

The suspicion that this was a tactic Lapis used as well struck Connie as a red flag, though about what specifically, she was unsure. She shook her head and focused on the right-to-left story in front of her. Whatever. Introspection was reserved for daylight hours, plus or minus lemony beverages and her Light Side coach.

Suddenly, though, Connie felt a warm weight on her legs. Despite herself, she grinned. Without looking back, she said, “Hey Wolf. Thanks but my legs are warm enough. Plus, half the time you come snuggle, I wake up with Wally crawling on me looking for yellow hairs.”

Hearing aids out, she couldn’t hear the sounds behind her, but she felt Wolf’s bulk shift atop the mattress. A second later and she made an involuntary wheeze as a furry weight pressed down on her torso.

Kicking and scrambling, she pivoted around and tried to object when a mass of yellow dog smushed into her face, Wolf pulling her into a hug or trying to affectionately smother her or something.

Sputtering, she wriggled and heaved with as much strength as she could muster to push the animal aside. When that didn’t do much more than earn her a gasp of air, she gave up on shifting the furry avalanche and groped around blindly on the side of her bed. Precious seconds passed and then she found the tug-of-war rope, a toy Wolf had extremely fond of ever since it’d turned up last month. Using what little leverage she could, she flung the toy over Wolf, out of her loft, and, she hoped, into the living room beyond.

“Go get it, boy!” she mumbled into the profoundly heavy, golden carpet.

With a motion that was as clumsy as it was enthusiastic, Wolf scrambled off of Connie and sprinted down the stairs. While Connie sat up and caught her breath, waiting for her lungs to reinflate, he swiftly found a knotted end of the rope, grabbed it in his mouth, and then whipped it back and forth in exuberant play.

Meanwhile, summoned by the siren’s song of stray dog hair, Wally clambered up to the loft and began to tidy, this being one of the nights each week Peridot allowed the ersatz robonoid into the Beach House proper.

Dropping the knotted rope, Wolf padded back up the stairs until he was standing on the edge of her mattress once more. Wally moved around tidying between his legs as Wolf fixed Connie with serious, intelligent eyes.

“Wolf, no climbing on me like that. You’re too heavy,” scolded Connie with no real force, feeling a little thrown off by the whole encounter.

Wolf quirked his head to the side for a moment. It looked like he might have whined or barked, but Connie couldn’t hear it. Then he looked over his shoulder at the portrait above the door. A beat later and his eyes returned to her.

Connie stood there, torn between treating this as a bout of doggy weirdness and something else. As if to answer her unspoken question, Wolf got close and tapped her gemstone with his nose. Then he looked at her mom’s portrait again and back at her.

Connie’s eyes slowly went wide. She’d read enough young adult novels to know that when your magical animal companion/pet mysteriously starts acting serious, you pay attention.

“What is it, boy? Do you have something to show me?” she asked while Wally hoovered up the yellow hairs around her feet.

Wolf gave her a broad doggie grin and then, with great ceremony, lowered himself on his front paws as though he were bowing before his liege. Resting his head on its side, he bared the flank of his neck.

Connie looked at the obviously supernatural animal before her, then her eyes skipped to the serene picture of the woman hanging above the entryway. _Did you mean for Wolf to somehow guide me to the truth when I was ready? Is this the long-awaited answers I’ve been looking for? And did I really spend this whole time with those answers walking around the boardwalk several times a week in a fry mascot costume?!_

Slowly Connie took a step forward, approaching the kneeling figure before her. Licking her lips, she tried to shove everything frivolous or silly within her aside so that she could focus _absolutely_ on what was going on, because this could be serious destiny business. 

_No, Serious Destiny Business. Capital letters,_ she amended.

Then Wally, following a trail of yellow across the mattress, approached the crouching canine and promptly disappeared into Wolf’s neck.

…

…

_**WHAT?!** _

Connie scrambled over and groped around, feeling the mattress, feeling under Wolf’s head for where the robonoid could have gone, and then feeling at the exposed flank Wolf was baring to her.

Stumbling forward, her arm sank up to her elbow before she caught herself, her other hand clumsily smooshing the side of Wolf’s face as she tried to leverage her way out of the implausibly deep pelt.

Backing away a little, she saw Wolf shake his head before resuming the same position. There could have been an doggie eye roll as well, but that might have been her imagination.

“W-Wolf. Where’s Wally?”

Still crouched, the hound made what could possibly be a construed as a beckoning gesture with his paw. If nothing else, that irrepressible corner of Connie’s mind had to commend him for staying serious even when Connie had abandoned all such pretext.

“Uh, okay. H-Here goes.” Slowly Connie crept forward, then extended one arm into the exposed fur. This time she was able to make out a faint yellowish-white light surrounding her limb as it went unnaturally deep into fur. Reach up to her shoulder she felt… wind?

Connie pulled back and looked around the Beach House uncertainly. Part of her was screaming at her to charge ahead before Wally got lost in… whatever Wally was in. Wolf-Narnia or something. Another part of her wanted to get a long rope, tie one end securely against the furniture, the other around her waist, and _then_ go in.

Feeling torn between urgency and sensibility, the imagined voices of all her fictional heroines shouting at her to get on with it impelled her to dive in.

Connie felt thick fur brushing against her face, arms, and sides. She wasn’t having to push through it like trying to climb through a brush. It was more like crawling around under a fuzzy blanket. Then she felt gravity do something funky and she emerged into…

The ground was a grass-like carpet of yellow, streaked with pink. The sun was hanging low in the sky, the edge of the orb eclipsed by a hill, the only landmark in what looked to be an otherwise featureless expanse. Connie could smell a faint floral tang to the air, honeysuckles maybe, or roses, and then-

Connie’s lungs were burning. Her vision began to swim. She took a deep breath and found that did absolutely nothing to alleviate the sudden, all-channels, blaring alarm her lungs were sending her that _she needed oxygen!_

Stumbling back into the fur-grass, she fell backward and began to cough and gasp sweet, cool, _breathable_ air. A few seconds later, the black spots began to vanish and she could see she was lying on her back in her loft, staring up at the ceiling.

 _Okay,_ she thought as she breathed deeply, _gotta hold my breath because whatever’s in there, it’s not air. Lesson learned._

Climbing to an upright position she sucked in another deep lungful of air, held her breath, and dove forward once more.

She appeared with the hill only a little ways distant. It was hemmed in on two sides by some kind of black material that had thick vines growing through it, blocking the dim light of the waning sun and shrouding the entire hilltop in shadow. There appeared to be the broad tree stump that might have once been a tall fir.

 _Heh, fur tree,_ quipped that irrepressible corner of her.

Seeing nowhere else to investigate, she began to wade forward.

As she traveled through the fur-grass she noticed odd shadows being cast between the pink and yellow patches. Approaching one and looking closer she realized it wasn’t shadows, but rather lines of oily blackness where the grass was absent or noticeably shorter. Standing up on her tiptoes and glancing around, she saw that the whole, vast expanse was a quilt made up of irregularly-shaped stretches of yellow or pink grass, the two colors never mixing and always divided by the inky black border. To say the black looked familiar was incorrect --there was nothing familiar about _any_ of this-- but it did tickle the back of Connie’s mind.

Whatever that was about was quickly forgotten as Connie’s lungs began to ache and she dove once more under the fluffy terrain.

Head, neck, and shoulders extending out of Wolf, Connie breathed heavily for a few seconds. _Focus, Maheswaran. Got to be quick. Wally’s in there somewhere. Get Wally then get out. Anything else comes after._

Oxygenated and on-task, Connie went back in.

Approaching the hill once more she spotted a flicker of light and movement. Moving as quickly as the knee-high grass would allow, she clambered up the slope, the yellow and pink grass giving way to more and more matte blackness as she went. Seen up close, the stump had a few splashes of green and pink as flowers grew along and atop it, their petals marred with spots of black. Right behind the stump was Wally, its eyes lighting up the dimness, attempting to clean a stretch of that oily-

It was all Connie could do to keep her mouth closed as she made a muffled sound of surprise.

There was a book, a large and sturdy-looking leather bound thing on the ground nearby that read in expressive yellow letters, ‘Rose Quartz.’

Near that was a shiny yellow bubble containing a prismatic, square-shaped stone that spiraled inward like a pixelated sea shell.

And near that was a misshapen lump of metal. The whole thing was stoved-in and crumpled, as though it’d been driven over by a truck or struck with a hammer. Repeatedly. It had what looked to have once been a yellow star emblem on it and below were two straps, one of them torn. One end had a cylinder of metal ending in jagged points, as though something had been broken off. The other side terminated in a bent spike, like a nail that no longer pointed straight.

Connie’s lungs reminded her of that whole ‘not breathing’ thing. Recalling her mantra from earlier, Connie scooped up Wally --the robonoid thrashing weakly as its nemesis and reason for being, mess, remained uncleaned-- and sprinted for the grass, vanishing into it almost as soon as she reached the base of the hill.

Breathing heavily, Connie had to lock her elbow to keep Wally from charging back into the space within Wolf’s fur and finishing the job. Around the time Connie’s cheeks had started to lose their flush, Wally had spotted the abundant disorder of Connie’s loft and turned itself to tidying that instead.

Connie’s mind reeled. A magical space accessible through her yellow-colored, mysterious, and obviously-magical animal companion. And in it she’d found a scrapped metal thingy. She’d found a _journal_ written in her mom’s handwriting. A journal, apparently, about _Rose Quartz,_ of all people.

Unsteady, more from revelation than holding her breath, Connie rose to her feet and squared her shoulders, knowing what she should do next.

She ran down the stairs, already willing the temple door open as she shouted at the top of her lungs, “Peridot! Lapis! Jasper! I found a gem!”

* * *

Connie woke up Lapis. Then (after Connie ran back and got her hearing aids) they both descended on Peridot in her workspace. As soon as Peridot accessed the warp logs and gave Lapis Jasper’s likely whereabouts (patrolling the Honeysuckle Battlefield for signs of Pyra), Lapis warped out and found her.

Connie, meanwhile, made sure Wolf got lots of “good boy”s and tummy rubs.

With Lapis and Peridot standing on the loft, the latter scanning with her good enhancer, and Jasper leaning against the edge of the loft from below, Connie took a deep breath and entered Wolf’s fur once more.

She emerged to a chorus of gasps, including her own for air, as the bubble, the journal, and the broken metal thing spilled out of her arms.

Wolf shifted around a little after Connie climbed out, as if getting comfortable.

“Is that really… Bismuth?” asked Lapis, motioning at the bubble, which hovered over to within inches of her face.

“It is definitely _a_ Bismuth, if that is your question,” responded Peridot, one tendril finger tapping her chin while she examined the holographic display of the scan data. “There were a number on Earth during the time of the Rebellion, I expect.”

Jasper, meanwhile, had lifted up the metal object by one of the straps and was studying it. After a minute, the large gem shrugged and set it back down, seemingly no more familiar with it than Connie was.

“Guys, isn’t this nuts?! Because this feels pretty nuts. I mean, even for us, this is strange, right?” asked the girl, pacing and fidgeting with nervous energy despite how crowded the loft was.

“Yeah, pooch-mounted portals is definitely a new one,” drawled Lapis without ever taking her eyes off the bubble she was inspecting from every angle.

“Wolf has always been an enigma and now the mystery deepens.” Peridot crouched to be eye-level with the hound. “What is your origin and function?”

Wolf gave a cavernous yawn and idly wagged his tail in response.

“We need to pop this thing,” said Lapis.

“What?! You can’t loose a corrupted Bismuth in the Beach House!” squawked Peridot.

Lapis’ return glare was fierce. “We don’t know she’s corrupted, P. Heck, Bismuth is probably too stubborn to get corrupted. Corruption would hit her, yell ‘nope!’ and then back away slowly.”

“That’s not how corruption works, and you know it. And regardless, we have no idea which Bismuth that even-”

“We’ll go to the sanctuary and unbubble her there. No fighting. No danger, whoever she is,” said Jasper and the hammerblow of common sense made everyone go quiet.

Connie glanced at Wolf and then made one last appeal to the group. “So, a big space in Wolf with mom’s stuff? We’re just going to let that slide?”

“Of course not, dear,” said Peridot, once again scrutinizing her displays. “But I fear if we don’t do something with that bubbled gem soon, Lapis will flood the town from sheer excitement.”

“She ain’t wrong,” agreed a visibly energetic Lapis.

A second passed and then Connie turned and crossed the loft. “I’m gonna get my winter clothes. Don’t leave without me.”

* * *

A whirlwind of changing later and Connie joined Lapis, Jasper, Peridot, and an iridescent gem in a yellow bubble, all three vanishing in a column of light.

Wally was scuttling around the Beach House but other than that, there was only Wolf. The large hound went from sleepy and disinterested to alert the moment the warp pad faded to quiescence.

Moving a large paw, Wolf uncovered the journal he’d obscured shortly after Connie had emerged. Rising up, he padded over and retrieved the knotted rope, carrying it in his mouth back up to the loft. Laying it down, he sniffed it over. Then he gave the journal a thorough sniffing as well, seemingly satisfied.

Gingerly taking the book into his jaws, he went down the stairs and nudged the door open, then trotted down the Beach House stairs and out of sight. A moment later there was a loud bark and the light of a vortex illuminated the dark beach.

The dark and silence (susurrus of the surf notwithstanding) returned and for several long minutes nothing happened.

The vortex light reappeared briefly, and soon after Wolf padded back up to the porch, absent the journal. Pawing carefully, he got the door open and nosed his way inside, then trotted up the stairs of the loft and flopped down on Connie’s mattress as though he’d never left.

* * *

It was cold and sunny in the sanctuary as the four of them walked toward the large structure in the middle.

“-and then Bismuth hammered the Kunzite into the ground. Literally!” exclaimed Lapis. “She really knew how to sell a punchline, Bismuth.”

Jasper had a faint smile on her face. Connie, buried under her winter clothes, looked like she was trying not to blink so that nothing about the current moment escaped her notice. Peridot was as close to frowning as you could get in the sanctuary.

“Laz, I hasten to remind you that we don’t know who that gem is, nor the condition they’ll be in once released.”

Lapis waved her off. “I’m just telling some stories, P. A gal’s allowed to get excited.”

“Bismuths are builders, right?” asked Connie, as much to answer her own curiosity as to shift the conversation for Peridot’s benefit.

Seven fingers gesturing as she spoke, Peridot transitioned to lecture mode with practiced ease. “Under the Diamond Authority, yes. They are material science experts and structural engineers responsible for quite a bit of large-scale construction. No integrated tech or artificial intelligence, but for a tall box that won’t fall over, a Bismuth will suffice.”

Lapis was right on Peridot’s conversational heels. “But Bismuth, the cool Bismuth, made all the weapons and armor for the Rebellion too. My super cool mallet? Bismuth made it. Your mama’s shield? Bismuth.”

“However!” interjected Peridot, “I was the one to repair your retractable hydro-hammer, Lapis. And the inertial dampener integrated within the Citrine Aegis was my addition which, I might add, has proven vital for the Steven’s combat efficacy.” Peridot lapsed into silence, head held high. When no one echoed her praise, she looked around mildly offended.

“Enough. If it’s Bismuth, it’s Bismuth. We’ll know soon enough,” said Jasper, once more reigning in the others.

They entered the inner sanctum, Citrine’s statue reclined and at peace.

Lapis made a giddy laugh of excitement and looked about to pop the bubble when Jasper gently scooped it from the gem and passed it to Connie. Lapis stuck out her tongue but Jasper ignored her.

“This was your mother’s bubble. You found it. You should open it.”

Connie nodded solemnly and removed one of her gloves. She tried pinching the side but the bubble remained intact. She gave it a tentative bop one or twice with her fist, having never actually popped one of these before. Eventually she took the saber from her hip and jabbed it into the bubble’s side until it burst apart with a high-pitched, almost cartoonish ‘pop!’

The rainbow-hued gemstone sat in her hands for a moment until it lit up. Connie yelped and jumped backwards as the square-spiraled stone oriented point-down and hovered up into the air.

Then a figure of light emerged, the gemstone embedded in her chest and oriented like a window. Tall, broad shoulders, thick arms, and a barrel-shaped chest all took definition. And finally, a cascade of dreadlocks, each a different color, covered the head and spilled across bare shoulders. Grey-skinned, wearing burgundy-colored pants, black boots, and a black-and-yellow apron, the gem landed on one knee, hand on the ground, face hidden behind the curtain of rainbow dreadlocks.

The gem raised her head and in a resonant voice said “Where-”

And then promptly was hit in the face with a sphere of water.

“Haha! Yes!” crowed Lapis, an empty canteen in one hand. “I knew it was you, you glorious piece of coprolite!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art for this chapter came from MjStudioArts and BurdenKing. The chapter promo as well as the character models were drawn by MjStudioArts.
> 
> It's been our plan for a long time now to spring Bismuth early compared to canon, and it's a real joy to finally reach this episode. Our enthusiasm was a large part of the reason there wasn't the usual week off between Ep22 and here.
> 
> Also, I've got to crow about MJ's redesign for Bismuth. MJ went with a little more realistic style, trimming down on some of the cartoonish elements but otherwise keeping her very recognizably Bismuth. I love it and I hope you enjoy the character, story-wise and art-wise, next Wednesday where she'll get to speak more than a single word of dialogue.
> 
> Maybe.
> 
> If we've got the budget for it, I mean.
> 
> Hey, [Uzo Aduba](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Uzo_Aduba) doesn't work cheap! :P
> 
> * * *
> 
> There's a fair bit of extra art to share down here. First off, here's the sketched model for Wally, the often-mentioned but hitherto undepicted robonoid neat freak.  
> 
> 
> There were two alternate promo pictures that MJ sketched up before she decided on the completely awesome one she drew instead. Here are those:  
>   
> 
> 
> And speaking of promo images, a not-so-subtle secret is that whenever a Wolf episode shows up, we herald it with a Studio Ghibli reference:  
>   
>   
>   
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	3. Back in Bismuth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First she could hardly get a word in, and now Bismuth won't shut up! I hope you enjoy this trio of chapters for everyone's favorite smith.

With a large hand, the rainbow-haired gem mopped the water from her face and rose to her feet. Lapis stood across from her with an ear-to-ear grin and a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. Bismuth surged forward and put the blue gem in a headlock. A splash of blue lost in muscular grey arms.

If Connie hadn't spent years watching Jasper in action, she'd be surprised by how fast the big gem could move. There was something about Jasper that told the mind, 'this person is indestructible.' In contrast, this new gem looked _very_ capable of destruction.

Without much apparent force or malice, Bismuth mussed up the trapped gem's hair. "You know, it's pretty Rosy of you to start something in the one place I can't properly thump you for it. You scared of me, Raindrop?"

Lapis pulled herself free of the lock and used a summoned wing to swat a muscular forearm. "Scared? I was terrified... that you'd gone soft on me, you big wuss."

Bismuth gave Lapis a playful shove that would have knocked the svelte gem to the sanctuary floor if it weren't for a few flaps of the latter's wings. "I reformed but I'm not reformed," was Bismuth's rejoinder, a cheeky smile crossing her face. She turned toward Jasper, saying to the room, "Anyway, I need to talk to someone important now."

Lapis blew a raspberry in retort while Bismuth socked Jasper in the shoulder. "Hey, Jaz. Still quartzy?"

Jasper's expression was warm in the cold sanctuary. "Perfectly."

"Talkative as always, I see. Think you can find the words to explain-"

"Hi! Connie, I’m Connie. You were in my wolf and we brought you here and now you’re here! Haha... ehem." The girl stood nearby, unable to contain the curiosity and excitement blazing inside her like twin stars. It was only by merit of where they were standing that Connie wasn't flushed with embarrassment.

Bismuth turned and knelt to her level. "Well, thank you, Connie." The grey gem reached out and shook Connie's hand, the large mitt swallowing up her own. "That sounds like quite the story, too. Maybe I can come by your village and hear about it when I'm done catching up. I'll bring swords. You guys like swords, right?" As she straightened back up, she noticed the saber strapped to Connie's hip. "Of course you like swords," and she patted Connie's shoulder, causing Connie's head and neck to jostle from the weight.

Connie saw green in her peripheral vision a second before Peridot cleared her throat pointedly. "Greetings." She started to extend a limb enhancer forward, offering a handshake. After a glance between thick arms and her own fragile components, she tucked them behind her back instead.

Bismuth turned and looked down at the technician, an expression of open curiosity spreading alongside her smile. "Oh, hey! A new recruit. Welcome aboard, we don't have any Peridots that I’ve met." She peered around the gem's shoulder to look at the limb enhancers. "Whoa, those things are neat. Did you build those?"

Peridot puffed up with pride and brought the enhancers around into plain view. "In the practical sense, yes, as the majority of the current components were crafted by me. They have extensive customizations made to their functions that are wholly unique."

Bismuth dropped into a crouch, her face inches away from an enhancer. "You don't say? Well, come by my forge as soon as I'm free and I'll make you a bigger chassis for these. That way you don't have to shrink down to fit in them."

It wasn't possible for anyone present to feel awkward given where they were, but several of them managed to look the part.

"These enhancers fit my form quite well, thank you," was Peridot's frosty reply as she withdrew the device from Bismuth's scrutiny. "And I am hardly a new recruit." Her expression conspicuously neutral, Peridot retreated to the edge of the group beside Connie. Her primary enhancer reconfigured into scanner mode while the green gem mouthed something under her breath.

Bismuth looked more confused than anything, but she raised her hands in a conciliatory manner as she stood back up. "Whoa, sorry, I didn't realize you were overcooked. That's fine, though. All are welcome."

"Bismuth?" said Jasper.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Sure thing, Jaz."

While lights flickered up and down Bismuth, Connie leaned in and whispered, "What are you scanning for, ma'am?"

"Signs of corruption."

"She doesn't look corrupted. Is that possible?"

"If we're lucky," muttered the gem in a voice so low Connie wasn't completely certain she heard it right. Peridot looked less than enthused when the enhancer gave a chipper 'no problems detected' chime.

"Dot's not overcooked," explained Lapis, who was taking the moment to fix her mussed up hair. "She's an Era-2."

"An Era-what?"

Jasper answered, her deep voice echoing slightly in the enclosed space. "Citrine said you were lost outside the Ziggurat fighting for the rebellion."

"It's been five thousand years." Lapis' arms went to her sides and her silence was invitation for the grey gem to fill it.

Bismuth's dark-purple eyebrows shot up. She stared at Lapis for a long moment, then turned to Jasper. The warrior gave her a faint nod of confirmation.

There was a weak smile. "Okay, you almost got me with this one. But I heard about that time you pulled this on Snowflake." Turning to Connie, she said, "This one time Snowflake left the Lunar Sea Shrine in a bubble. Raindrop got a dozen rebels to swear with a straight face she'd missed a century instead of a week."

Connie fidgeted with the hem of her winter coat, not quite wanting to meet Bismuth's gaze.

"Homeworld withdrew from the system following the successful conclusion of Citrine's rebellion. The timeline of five millennia is imprecise but sufficiently accurate for this conversation," explained Peridot in a dry tone.

"You gals are serious?"

Four heads nodded in response.

Bismuth staggered back a step, looking around as if taking in her surroundings for the first time. Staring straight at the serene face on the statue towering nearby, she said, "She really did it then."

Jasper walked over and stood beside the bewildered gem, following Bismuth's gaze up. "She did. We won. The Earth is safe and Homeworld is gone." She took a deep breath and added, "The war's over."

"I never thought I'd see- I mean, you think about after the war but-" stammered the rainbow-haired gem.

Jasper gripped her shoulder and gave a squeeze that would have cracked stone. "I know. Me too."

Lapis skipped forward and tugged on one of Bismuth's dreadlocks. "Yeah, five thousand years. And like Connie said, you were in a bubble in her wolf. A yellow bubble." Hovering up so that she was eye-to-eye with the grey gem, Lapis asked, "BM, what the heck happened?"

Bismuth held the gaze for a second, then two. Then she broke eye contact. "You gals need to give me some time to lay a foundation before you drop something this heavy on me. Let's go with that Ziggurat thing. Poofed doing that."

Lapis' expression was flat save for a single upraised eyebrow. "You know, I'm getting the subtle impression that you're lying."

"Big time. But I'm still dealing with the whole 'five thousand years' thing, Raindrop. We're not all so old and crusty as you that we'd lose five millennia without worrying our empty blue heads over it."

Lapis was smiling widely again and she mimed wiping away a tear. "Dang, have I missed you. You have no idea how pissed I was when I thought you'd gone and gotten yourself shattered without me there to laugh at you for it." In the blink of an eye her expression went deadly serious. "But don't jerk us around, you jerk. We talk tomorrow."

Bismuth nodded. "Tomorrow."

Wind whistled through the sanctuary and a cloud rolling down the mountain slope passed overhead. The room grew dim, which seemed to draw everyone's gaze up toward the light filtering in from the openings overhead. The statue of Citrine met their gaze and returned it with its own serene countenance.

Bismuth's expression grew thoughtful. "Where is the general? Or-" She paused and scratched her left shoulder, dreadlocks brushed aside in the process. "Are we still calling her the general? With this peace business, I guess she's just Citrine now."

Jasper looked at Connie, up at the statue, and then back at Connie before answering. "Citrine is gone. We have Connie now."

Connie was sure in that moment that she'd done good work in her sanctuary maintenance, because otherwise she didn't think Jasper could have said that so matter-of-factly.

Bismuth gave her a confused look, glancing between the other three gems present for an explanation. 

Connie, her underlying awkwardness held at bay, took a breath and then reached up, pulling down the top of her winter coat and undershirt to reveal the gemstone underneath. "I'm Citrine's daughter. She kinda became a part of me when I was born. I have her gemstone and, um, some of her powers." A beat later, Connie decided to err on the side of over-explaining, this being a gem she was talking to. A gem who was five thousand years behind, in fact. "The rest of me, all the human stuff, that's from my dad. His name is Doug."

Bismuth crouched down and stared at the yellow stone, her brows raised in wonder. "Ohh... There she is." She looked into Connie's eyes, slight furrows forming across her forehead. "You... Do you know me?"

Connie shook her head. "No. I mean, I've heard some stories from Jasper and Lapis. But other than that..." She trailed off, unsure what more to say.

Peridot stepped forward, close enough to Connie to give off almost a proprietary air. "Citrine elected to pursue organic reproduction and hybridization approximately fourteen-point-five solar rotations ago. Whatever her motives for doing so, we have all accepted her decision and care for Connie very much. Do-" Her two tendril-fingers fidgeted. "Do be gentle with her. She is as much human as she is Quartz."

Bismuth gave a distracted nod, still looking at Connie and her gemstone. "Sure thing, Green." It was another long moment before Bismuth said in an even tone, "Well, Connie, if this is a clean slate, let's make a _point_ of _breaking_ with anything you've heard before." She studied Connie's expression intently.

You could feel unsure in the sanctuary, you just didn't get the cocktail of anxiety and self-reproach that went with it. Connie was very unsure of what to say or do while Bismuth was looking at her expectantly.

"It's cool, BM. When I told girlie that you were only kept around to make the rest of us look good, that you were a knuckle-dragging scowl wearing a rainbow wig, she knew not to believe the wig part." Lapis finished with a sweet and innocent smile.

Bismuth stood up. "Too much peace and you're spoiling for a fight, eh? It'll have to wait." Her eyes became energetic and her grin widened. "There must have been one heck of a party after we kicked those upper crust homeworlders out! Well, no way are we doing anything until we have a proper Bismuth party, because you girls wouldn't know a good time if it collapsed on your heads." Bismuth began to pace. "We gotta call everyone in: Crazy Lace, Snowflake, Biggs, Obsidian, Tourmaline, oh! And the Onyx twins if they didn't shatter each other fighting over Raindrop!"

Everyone stared at Bismuth, no one eager to be the first one to respond.

Eventually Peridot placed her limb enhancers on her hips. Giving Lapis a _look_ she said in an even voice, "The Onyx twins?"

Lapis clapped her hands together and summoned her wings, rising about six inches off the ground. "Hey, who wants to take a walk?"

* * *

The green origami scorpion sauntered by, pausing only to fix the group with an eyeless stare that conveyed being profoundly unimpressed. A faint gust of wind tousled Bismuth's dreadlocks as it passed.

"Hey Blue?" asked the smith.

"Yeah?"

"Was that a Jade?"

"Yup."

"Why was it shaped like something you'd scrape off the bottom of your boots?"

"Homeworld left with a big 'jank you' to everyone still here."

Bismuth looked around, taking in the sights of the other corrupted gems that wandered the sanctuary. "Weren't all the Jades working for Homeworld?"

"Yup."

Bismuth shook her head, dreads sweeping with the motion. "I knew those Homeworld elites were twisted."

"Yyyup."

* * *

Connie stepped off the crowded warp pad --the four of them were a little packed before adding the broad-shouldered Bismuth to the mix-- and a ways to the side, the scent of honey suckles heavy in the air.

The sun was just starting to rise over the overgrown battlefield. The towering weapons jutting out of the growth caught the light while long shadows stretched across the ground. It being night back in Beach City, Connie had to swallow a yawn as her internal clock clashed with the brightening sky.

Peridot walked over. The calm of the sanctuary was slowly giving way to a grimace directed at the trio of Rebellion veterans.

Bismuth stepped off the pad, head swiveling around to drink in the sight. It reminded Connie of her own reaction when she'd first come here. Shucking off her winter clothes in the mild heat of a Norwegian summer, Connie felt the stirrings of guilt within her, unknowingly mouthing the name 'Pyra' as she did.

Bismuth dug an axe out of the soil, brushing the dirt from the dull blade, the bottom fourth of the handle missing. "How many others made it? Avoided that corruption thing?" she asked in a voice finally capable of injecting the anger and confusion she'd been denied previously.

Connie could hear the weapon's handle groan with the strength of the grip squeezing it.

Lapis' previous barb-riddled levity was completely absent. A slight, blue hand was patting a bulging bicep. The other fiddled with nervous energy at a yellow blossom she’d snagged.

Jasper, who stood a pace away looking stoic, was the one to answer. "The Apostate's still out there. We found an overcooked Amethyst. Didn't emerge until after it was all over. Ran off."

Lapis' hand trailed down to the gem's thick wrist. "And we found you. It's not like the old days, but it's not all bad."

Bismuth looked down at her. "The old days? They don’t feel old to me, Raindrop." Giving the axe a mild swing, she said, "What are we even doing now?! Finding those Homeworld monsters still here and shattering them? Someone should pay. Someone has to pay for what they did!" 

The age-worn axe handle couldn't take Bismuth's grip and splintered into fragments, the weapon landing with a dull thud on the earth of the ancient battlefield.

Jasper walked around, stooping only to pick up the abused weapon. "Rebellion. Homeworld. We can't tell who is what anymore. They can't either. We bubble them. Keep the Earth safe. Keep the life on Earth safe." She tore a fragment off the ruined handle, holding it in her large fingers. "Shattering, even when we know, like that Jade, doesn't bring anyone back." She tossed the fragment away where it was lost among the fragrant foliage. Picking up another piece from the ground, she slotted it into a jagged gap like popping a puzzle piece into place. "We rebuild instead." The warrior gestured toward Peridot. "Her especially."

Peridot seemed a little surprised to suddenly be included in the conversation. She gave a meek, two-fingered wave.

Jasper handed the dull and pitted blade back to Bismuth. "You can too. Or not." She smiled. It wasn't wide but it was sincere even as she looked a little melancholy around the eyes. "Your choice. Citrine won, after all."

Bismuth stared down at the axe head, no reflection visible in its matte surface. A hand ran over the cracks and pits in it, a master's eye discerning as many imperfections wrought by the patient weathering of peace as the frenetic clash of war. Then she reached over and plucked the flower from Lapis' hand, raised it to her nose, and sniffed it.

By the time her hand came down she had a nascent smile blossoming. She chuckled. "You're right, it is my choice now. Okay then, let's give this peace _Bismuth_ a shot."

Jasper rolled her eyes. Lapis snorted in an undignified manner and didn't care in the slightest. Peridot chuckled before catching herself and going quiet.

Connie yawned enormously.

"Oh, right. It's past midnight for Con-con," said Lapis. "Let's get girlie to bed first and then we can get down to Bismuth."

Bismuth's thick arms went to her hips, the broken axe still held in one large fist. "That's my joke, tiny."

"Eh, it's funnier when I say it."

With sudden movement, Bismuth dropped the axe and pulled Lapis into another headlock. "I just realized I can give you a proper Jasper-noogie now." Grey knuckles ground on the blue scalp in a move very familiar to Connie.

Lapis squawked and pounded ineffectively at the thick arms. "Gah! Hey, that's Jasper's thing!"

Jasper stood a little ways away, arms crossed under a slight grin. "Eh, it's funnier when she does it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	4. Missing Information

As soon as they'd gotten home from the Honeysuckle Battlefield, Connie had been ushered to bed by Peridot. Meanwhile, Jasper and Lapis had a brief clash of wills over who would get Bismuth first. A minute later Jasper led Bismuth into the burning room with Lapis tagging along behind.

Wally had been busy chasing dust bunnies in the corner of the living room, weaving in and around the racks of training weapons and equipment. Wolf was sleeping on Connie's bed and Peridot simply transferred him via tractor beam to the couch below. Other than a brief snort, he slept through the whole trip.

Connie looked around briefly for the journal but a tutting Peridot said it could wait for the morning. The broken metal thing was transferred from the loft over to the coffee table.

With a chest full of excitement, a head full of questions, and a bone-deep tiredness, Connie drifted off to sleep...

...and immediately after she'd closed her eyes, she woke to find the sun up. Bleary-eyed, she sat up and wondered why she was so tired.

Then the details of last night slammed into Connie's waking mind. Trivialities like sleepiness were scoured away and the girl practically leapt out of bed.

A glance confirmed that the Beach House was empty save for Wally, in sleep mode by the temple door, and Wolf, in sleep mode on the couch.

Hastily getting dressed, Connie began to look for the journal. Bismuth was all kinds of exciting and amazing and was objectively the bigger deal, but the journal was a _book_. Books were special. This one especially.

One of the best things about books was that they were simple. The story might be complicated, the ideas conveyed might require days or weeks to fully consider, there might be plot holes or out-of-character behavior to navigate, but actually pulling the words from the page was only a matter of reading them. You couldn't offend a book -- _Magical, embedded gem-books excepted,_ she mentally noted-- nor did you have to tread carefully around certain topics lest the book clam up on you and get evasive. No drama, no minefields, no social interactions that half the time she didn't feel like she really understood anyway. You couldn't embarrass yourself in front of a book -- _Previous exception aside_ \-- nor could you overstay your welcome.

Which was all moot _if she couldn't find the darn thing!_

"Ugh!"

The cry of frustration caused Wolf to snort and raise his head in doggy confusion. He was further rudely awakened when Connie, politeness long since cast aside, hauled up one of the couch cushions he was resting on so she could peer underneath.

There was a noise followed by the clomping of metal gravity connectors on hardwood flooring. "Good morning, dear. How-"

Connie turned around from looking under Wolf's rump and, whatever her expression was, it caused Peridot to go silent mid-sentence. 

"I can't find it!"

Peridot didn't move her head but she did look side-to-side, possibly for something that screamed 'missing object,' possibly for others to help, possibly for an escape route. She found none of those things. "Can't find what?"

Connie's arms thrust over her head, jiggling the power sink around her neck that was gliding from color to color with speed. "THE BOOK! The journal I pulled out of Wolf's magic neck space! The journal written by my _Mom_ about _Rose Quartz_! That book! And I can't. Find it!"

Peridot edged towards the temple door. "I'll go and gather my ersatz robonoids to aid in the search."

Connie's eyebrows shot up. "Gah! Do you think Wally vacuumed it up?!" She tried to run for the slumbering robonoid but had to navigate the coffee table first. 

Peridot used that delay to jump between the girl and the (probably) innocent construct. " _No,_ I mean, erm, I will inspect Wally's waste repository for the missing treatise. You should," she looked around, "check Lapis' book collection in case it got misshelved."

Connie descended on the window seat book collection like a storm. Peridot, meanwhile, scooped up Wally and retreated into her room.

The temple door slid open a second later, Lapis and Bismuth stepping through with Jasper close on their heels. 

"-and my water passes right through her, of course. Sweeps the whole group of them off the cliff. Citrine tags one with the sword, shocking the rest in the water blob, and Jasper manages to catch all four gemstones before they hit the ground."

Bismuth's percussive laugh filled the Beach House. "Really? How'd you nab all four, Jaz?"

"Two in the left," and the large gem held out her palm to illustrate. "One in the right. One in the mouth."

Lapis was bouncing up and down, pigtails waving. "Tell the best part! Tell the best part!"

"The one I caught in my mouth? An Amethyst. Quick to reform."

"You mean-" started Bismuth.

Jasper nodded.

"I fly down just in time to see OJ here sock herself in the mouth. Hard. Does that twice more, all while this purple claw is trying to, like, swing at her or climb out or something."

"Probably just confused," offered the perfect Quartz.

"Who wouldn't be?" said the smith.

"Finally OJ does a kind of running headbutt into the cliff face-"

"Slamming my mouth shut. Trying to poof it again."

"And then she comes up with all this purple smoke pouring out between her teeth. She spits the Amethyst out and Citrine catches it with a bubble. So I'm a giggling mess but Citrine had that smile of hers, you know the one, and she says, 'Good work, Jasper. Very resourceful. But out of curiosity, what did that taste like?'" Lapis had adopted a calm if lilting tone while she did her Citrine impression.

Then she was back to one-hundred percent Lapis. "And you know what Jasper said?"

Bismuth was leaning against the wall, grin wide. She looked at Jasper and asked, "What did you tell her?"

"Victory."

Jasper didn't even bother containing her satisfied expression as the other two descended into knee slapping and laughter.

A manga went flying across the living room followed by a cry of frustration. Jasper fell into an alert stance. Bismuth, hands still on her knees, wiped a cheek with a broad palm and said, "Huh?"

"Whoa! Easy on the goods!" said Lapis as she literally flew across the room.

"I can't find it!"

"Okay, deep, non-murderous breaths, Con-con. What's missing?"

Connie tromped over and gestured broadly toward her loft. "When I went into Wolf's space last night, I found a book." She pointed at Bismuth. "And I found her in a bubble." She jabbed a thumb at the misshapen lump of metal on the coffee table, "And I found whatever that is."

Bismuth's already grey face somehow became ashen. Her eyes bulged a little, as though she'd been the one to swallow an Amethyst. Neither Connie nor Lapis paid her any attention. Jasper's eyebrows twitched, the ghost of curiosity playing across them, but she said nothing to the smith.

"Alright, unless it grew legs and walked off, we'll find it, girlie," assured Lapis. Turning to the others, she said, "Won't we, gals?"

Jasper nodded. Bismuth, after a moment, tore her eyes away from the thing on the coffee table and muttered something in the affirmative.

The temple door behind them opened and Peridot tried to enter. After ducking under the canopy of broad shoulders and large arms, she managed to squeeze past the two large gems. A troupe of ersatz robonoids followed after her like ducklings. "Yes, let's locate this misplaced volume."

* * *

Bismuth and Jasper lowered the couch down after Peridot was able to chase Wally out of the fertile dusting grounds below. Not that either of them lacked the strength to lift it themselves, but the couch would probably break if only supported from one end.

Connie was sitting morose on a bar stool at the kitchen counter, Lapis standing beside her and patting her back. "You checked inside Wolf, right?"

"Twice," came the muted reply.

Out on the porch, Wolf was looking like quite the unhappy pup, head resting on his paws, ears drooping, his tail limp. _He probably feels bad that I feel bad,_ thought Connie, a twinge of sympathy and self-reproach sparking within her.

"Well, it'll turn up _eventually_ ," assured the blue gem. Leaning in close like she was sharing a secret, Lapis said, "Hey, you know what makes me feel better when the world isn't playing fair?"

"Food?" // "Food!" muttered Connie and enthused Lapis, respectively.

"Why don't you go over to the couch so you're out of the splash zone and Peri will whip something up? Maybe let Pinkie Pie know what’s going on while you’re at it." Without waiting for an answer, Lapis started to guide the glum girl across the living room.

Peridot had been gathering the ersatz robonoids like a kindergarten teacher herding her class. "A fine idea, Lapis. Let me just return these ten to their charging crèche."

Johnny #52, however, was suffering a component failure and was industriously bouncing off of Bismuth's booted foot. The smith reached down and palmed the mechanical minion like an NBA player palmed a basketball. Something metal dropped, bouncing off the floor. "Fragile little gizmos, aren't they?"

A quartet of floating fingers soared over and snatched up the straggler. The fifth finger grabbed the dropped component. "They are robust enough for their purposes. Besides, were they comprised of proper Era-2 components, they would be far sturdier and more aesthetically pleasing in appearance," snapped Peridot.

There was a chorus of clicks and whistles that ran the gamut of offended to depressed.

The technician looked down, startled, and added hastily, "Not that they aren't functional or lacking in cosmetic appeal."

The shin-height crowd sounded unconvinced.

Bismuth had taken a seat on the couch but when Connie sat down, she got up and walked idly across the room. "And I've been meaning to ask, why are we building bases out of wood now? Seems like a terrible idea."

Lapis clapped her hands. "Ha! That's what I said!"

Peridot shot Lapis a betrayed look. "And when, precisely, did you opine on the material choice for this edifice's construction?" Her voice was dripping with skepticism.

"Back when that big Centipeetle Matriarch took out that wall." Lapis jabbed a thumb behind her. 

Connie paused in her exchange with Steven --the boy text-shouting about being on the road to visit his Uncle Andy and how he’d hurry back as soon as possible and _AAAAAH NEW GEM!_ \-- to look up. Sure enough, in September that section of Beach House had been smashed open by a very rude entrance and, soon after, exit.

"Don't know what that is, but build this place outta durasteel and if it gets in, it deserves it," said Bismuth, prodding one of the walls.

Peridot drew herself up, still a good deal shorter than the smith. "Yes, well, as I lack a Diamond-class refinery, I've had to make do with five thousand-year-old scrap and terrestrial materials."

"Ah, you don't need a refinery to-"

Peridot cut Bismuth off. " _And besides_ it was Citrine and Doug's choice that Connie should be reared in a human-typical dwelling. There are matters besides the materials to keep in mind." With that the temple door opened and Peridot pivoted on her gravity connector, brusquely leading the troupe through.

A moment later floating fingers emerged and snatched up Johnny, the robonoid having been moving in circles and leaking an iridescent oil on the floor.

Bismuth gave the room an apologetic look. "Did I do wrong with Green again? This a, what'd you call it, Era-2 thing?"

Lapis huffed. "Dot's a little sensitive right now. It's been an eventful couple of..." She turned and looked at Connie, the ghost of a smirk creeping in, "How old are you again?"

Connie whapped Lapis with a throw pillow, the blue gem play-staggering from the blow and collapsing onto the corner of the couch across from her. Despite Connie's wishes, she felt her attitude improving.

Arms spread out across the backing, Lapis crossed one blue leg over the other, a bare ankle bobbing as she spoke. "Anyway, I think Peri's gonna need a short sulk, so don't worry, BM. For once, your black hole of a personality isn't to blame."

"Hey, Yellow?"

Connie tossed a pillow over to Bismuth, who chucked it like a squishy cannonball into Lapis' chest.

Like the sun passing from behind a cloud, the atmosphere of the Beach House felt lighter. That had always been Lapis' forte, and the blue gem was in fine form today.

"Barbarians, all of you," faux-complained the hydrokinetic. "Fortunately, we have a spare chef." Twisting around to face Jasper, the warrior having drifted over to her usual spot by the counter near to the warp pad, Lapis said, "Let's smell what the rock is cooking."

Jasper's expression shifted from casual confidence to mild uncertainty. "I don't follow."

The feet uncrossed and the crossed the other way, her pigtails bouncing as Lapis shook her head in disbelief. "Barbarians _and_ philistines. I really need to show you wrestling one of these days, J. Anyway, would you mind cooking?"

With a silent nod, Jasper shoved off from the counter and strolled into the kitchen, grabbing an oversized white apron off a hook and putting it on as she went. Steven had gotten it for the warrior as a gift some time back and she'd veered back and forth between ignoring it utterly and wearing it without prompting.

"Cooking, huh? It's like smithing but for food, right?" Bismuth approached the kitchen and shot Jasper a wordless request. The warrior gave an accepting tilt of the head and Bismuth crossed into the shared space. "I've already got the apron for it," she said, flashing a cheeky grin to the pair on the couch.

Pausing between gathering reinforced cookware, Jasper pushed some stalks of celery over to the smith. "Cut these." A titanium baking tray went on the counter and Jasper added, "Don't cut the counter under it."

With a flash, one of Bismuth's arms turned into a razor-sharp knife. She was poised to dice the green stalks when she paused, nodded, and shifted her other hand into a long, flat cutting board. Scooping up the vegetables, she got to work.

Peridot emerged from the temple about ten minutes later and found the kitchen bustling, and too crowded for another person.

* * *

Peridot had just gathered up the dishes and Connie was trying to sort through her own thoughts. It wasn't that she had a lack of things to ask Bismuth, it was that she had _so many_ it was hard to sift through them. Plus, the whole situation was like a weird mashup of 'visit by an old family friend' and 'back from the dead,' neither of which Connie had any idea how to handle.

"Hey, Yellow. Hand me that weapon."

Connie made a small but sharp inhalation as the larger world intruded on her mental one. _Right. Other people._ She mentally replayed the request and then looked around confused.

With the dishes cleared, there wasn't anything in front of Connie now except for the broken metal whatever-it-was she'd retrieved. She stared at it bemused, then at Bismuth, who was watching her closely. 

Looking around again she tried following Bismuth's gaze. If it wasn't the metal thingy then- She saw her saber hanging on a coat hook by the door. _Oh, she must mean that._

She walked over to the blade. "This?"

Bismuth let the silence drag out a second or two longer and it really felt like she was expecting something from Connie. What, the girl had no idea. Then the smith cut through the tension with a chuckle and said, "Yeah. What'd you think I meant?"

Connie couldn't really settle on a good response so she just kind of stood there for a moment making inarticulate noises before shrugging, grabbing the saber, and walking it over to Bismuth.

Large hands took the blade and turned it this way and that, catching the light, showing the edge, testing the weight. “Not bad. Good weapon for someone your size. Though I bet you just leave ‘em running and let the others mop up, right?”

Connie looked at Bismuth uncomprehendingly. “Huh?”

“This is for when you feel like getting your hands dirty. Prove your _point_ by _breaking_ their resistance yourself.” This was followed with another searching look.

Connie fiddled with a hearing aid. “I, uh, use it to fight gem monsters sometimes,” she offered lamely.

Bismuth used the blade to scratch the back of her neck. “You’re a hard one to read. You know that, Yellow?”

“I guess.”

She handed Connie the saber handle-first, gripping the flat of blade between thick thumb and forefinger. “They told me you never met her.”

Taking the weapon and turning it in her hand, she could see the yellow of the portrait behind her reflected in the blade. “Yeah.”

Bismuth stared at Connie’s gemstone and then looked her in the eyes. “She was a heck of a gem. Turns out I couldn’t read her either, though. Something you two have in common.”

Connie stared into the reflection of the sword a moment longer. Then she licked her lips and looked Bismuth in the eyes. “There’s this thing the gems do sometimes where they talk about stuff that I don’t know like they think I know it. Maybe it’s because gems know so much when they emerge, or maybe it’s because they still kind of think of me and mom as overlapping or something. But I don’t know anything she knew. I had to figure out what powers I have. I _still_ haven’t learned how to summon my sword when I need to, which is why I carry this on missions,” and she waggled the saber a little for emphasis. “I didn’t know about the weird pocket dimension thingy I found you in. Or about the whole shadow monster thing. I don’t know what was in that journal we couldn’t find and I have no idea what that thing is or why mom wanted to keep it.” A gesture indicated the battered metal thing on the table. “I’m sorry, but mom, Citrine, she’s not here anymore and she didn’t exactly leave an instruction manual around. I’m Connie. And if you have any details with the rest of that stuff, I’d love to hear them.”

Bismuth gave her another long look, gaze darting between her and her gemstone. Then she stood looking conflicted about something. “Mind if I have that saber again, Yellow?”

Connie handed it over.

“I’m gonna go sharpen this,” she said, walking for the door and brushing past Peridot as the technician was leaving the kitchen. Speaking without looking back, Bismuth said, “I think better when I’ve got something to do. Tell Blue to come and find me if something comes up.”

Peridot was walking towards the temple door when she slowed to a stop nearby. She glanced back as the screen door shut. “Was that exchange about anything in particular?”

Connie could only shake her head. “Probably, but I don’t know what.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	5. Wonders

Connie laid out the cards and components across the coffee table. Everyone was gathered around, additional seating having been retrieved from Peridot’s room.

“The game is called 7 Wonders,” introduced Connie. “We each control a civilization that’s going to build buildings and monuments, develop science and culture, as well as trade and fight with our neighbors. But don’t worry, it’s all really streamlined. There’s six rounds to a turn and three turns to the game. Whoever has the most points at the end wins the game.”

Bismuth squinted at the cards, chin lowered almost to her knees. Then she glanced at the wonder pictured in front of Jasper. “When did gems decide to build a temple-statue of a human?”

Connie looked at the picture then at Bismuth. Then it clicked. “Oh, no, that’s the Colossus of Rhodes. It was this giant bronze statue built more than two thousand years ago. I don’t think gems were involved at all.”

Jasper shook her head. Lapis said, “Nope. It was after the war so it was just us, your momma, and Garnet. And none of us would much wanna make a statue of a big naked dude.”

Connie pointed at the name on the wonder. “That’s the civilization that Jasper’s playing as and if she wants, she can spend her resources to build her wonder. Just like you’re playing as Egypt and can build the Great Pyramid of Giza.”

“Humans built that too? Well, I guess you’ve had plenty of time to figure things out,” remarked the smith.

Peridot laid her cards face down and called up a hologram showing a timeline with little pictures scattered along it. “Actually, Bismuth, the structure in question was constructed during the time of the Rebellion. It is the largest of its kind, but not the oldest.”

Bismuth stared at the hologram and then at the picture in front of her. “That was here the whole time?”

Lapis had one of her wings fanned out and was trying to use it to see Connie’s cards in the reflection. “We can go see it some time if ya want, BM.” Connie noticed what was going on and yelped, flipping her cards hurriedly face down, which only served to make Lapis’ smirk deepen. “It’s not like we’ve got to go stop Homeworld from wrecking the joint anymore.”

Bismuth picked up the game’s box and was looking at the pictures. “And there’s seven of these things. That’s neat.”

Connie shot Lapis a last, offended look --Lapis smiled back sweetly-- and then said, “Actually, there’s quite a few more than that. Dozens, at least. The base game doesn’t even have the Great Wall of China.”

“That’s fun to spindash across.”

Everyone looked at Jasper.

“It is.”

* * *

“-Biggs opened up the tunnel into the fortification and we all come charging in expecting to be seizing the armory.”

Connie and Lapis were sitting on the edge of their seats. Jasper was at a parade rest a little ways away, having ceded her usual spot on the couch for Bismuth. Peridot was listening from the kitchen while the dinner they’d recently finished was tidied away.

Bismuth gestured grandly --the other reason Jasper had given the smith her room-- and said, “With Citrine’s forces out there having drawn the garrison away, it should have been easy pickings. Only problem was, the Carnelian read the map wrong.”

“So where’d you come up?” piped Connie, leaning forward, excited to hear not only war stories, but _new_ war stories. The ones Jasper and Lapis were willing to share had, for the most part, been shared already.

“We came up in a supply room. And get this, there’s the head Agate up against the wall, her form bare while a Pearl is-”

Connie’s hearing abruptly cut out, a pair of floating fingers having flown across the intervening space like disapproving missiles to toggle off her hearing aids. By the time she managed to wave them off and dial the volume back up, Lapis was flopped over gripping her sides, Jasper was barking out a laugh that could be felt as well as heard, and Peridot was flushed and stammering.

Bismuth managed to wave them all to relative silence after a few moments. Connie, meanwhile, kept careful guard over her hearing aid controls. “Credit where it’s due, she did manage to tag Biggs with that whip of hers before we could poof her. Turns out the armory was one room over.” Bismuth wiped under one eye. “We made sure all of those supplies went to Rose’s division. After all, if that was what they got up to in the closet…”

There was another howl of laughter as well as a stern reminder of what did and did not constitute acceptable conversational subjects while certain impressionable youths were within earshot.

After the last giggles had subsided, Lapis stretched like a cat and rose to her feet. “I missed out on all the best missions. Couldn’t you gals have waited? It was only a couple centuries.”

Bismuth was resting her head on one large palm, an easy grin across her face. “Sorry, Raindrop. But next time it happens, I’ll be sure to invite you along.”

“You do that.”

Lapis’ expression shifted a little, going from a kind of natural enthusiasm to something less authentic. There was a hardness around her eyes that hadn’t been there before. “However, girlie’s got bed coming up soon and that means there’s one more story you need to tell first.”

“Oh?” asked the smith, seemingly unaware of the change in Lapis.

“Yeah. It’s tomorrow, BM. What happened?”

Bismuth’s relaxed attitude fell off her completely. Her wide mouth became a line.

Connie noticed that Jasper had subtly repositioned herself so that she was between the grey-skinned gem and the warp pad.

Bismuth shook her head. Her eyes were a little pleading but she wasn’t looking at them. “War’s over. And she won. So if she said I was poofed at the Ziggurat, well, maybe it’s best that’s what happened.”

Connie followed her gaze up to the portrait.

A blob of liquid, the remaining quarter of Connie’s glass of water, rose up and then splashed into Bismuth’s face. “That’s not the Bismuth I knew talking. She didn’t back down from anyone or anything. If all four Diamonds had told her shut up, she’d have kicked them in shins and told them to go jank themselves.” Leaning forward a little, the blue gem said, “So, who did we unbubble yesterday?”

Bismuth ran large fingers through her thick dreads. When she spoke, she was looking at the metal thing on the coffee table. “That happened.”

“You know what it is?” asked Peridot, the gem having relocated to one of the bar stools.

“I made it. It is --was-- the Breaking Point. The strongest alloys I could forge went into making something that could shatter a Diamond with a single hit.” 

There was a gasp from Peridot. Lapis’ hand went to her mouth. Jasper seemed unmoved but there was tension in the line of her jaw that hadn’t been there before.

“I built it and I took it to Citrine. I showed her how it worked. I could make more. Hundreds. Thousands. One for every gem who was tired of being on the bottom and was ready to bring those upper crusts crashing down. It had the power to end the war on Earth. We could have taken the war to Homeworld. Liberated everyone and shattered anyone who stood in our way.” Bismuth’s voice had grown louder, more impassioned. Then she said more quietly, “Or so I thought.”

There was silence. Bismuth was slumped forward, muscular arms on her knees. When she spoke, it was softer. “I knew Rose would never approve. She was Rose. Soft. Thought we could fight Homeworld with ideals. But Citrine? You put a problem in front of her and she solved it. One way or another, she solved it and then she solved the next one. And she just kept going until the job was done. Here I was giving her the solution to all her problems. And she took it. For herself.”

Connie looked at the misshapen lump of metal, trying to see the lethal weapon it had been and failing. “Mom used it?” the words escaping her lips more-or-less on their own.

“Citrine shattered Pink Diamond, right?” asked Bismuth.

Lapis and Jasper nodded.

“Then she used it.”

Lapis had picked up Connie’s now-empty glass and was turning it in her hands. “That answers a thing or two about her solo mission. She went off during this big diversion Jasper and I led near the end of the war. But…” She trailed off.

Jasper finished the thought. “Why’d she poof you? She used the weapon.”

Bismuth shook her head like an animal trying to scare off buzzing flies. It made her dreadlocks swing in broad arcs before falling back in a rainbow cascade. “You think you can read someone and it turns out you can’t. Citrine takes the Breaking Point from me and says that I can’t tell anyone about it, and that I’d have to swear never to make another one. I remember it all so clearly. I remember it like it was only yesterday.”

Bismuth sat up a little, the fires of indignation burning behind her eyes where before had been resignation. She spoke, telling both sides of a conversation, one in a calm, lilting voice, the other much more emotional.

“Wouldn’t a hundred Diamond busters be better than one?” asked Bismuth.

In a calm voice, Bismuth recounted Citrine's answer. “It would be monstrously wrong. Shattering is something no gem should be burdened with.”

“Whoa, Yellow, you’re sounding pretty Rosy all of the sudden. That thing’s not going to tickle Pink Diamond, you know.”

“Rose isn’t wrong about shattering. She never was. But she was wrong about winning without it. No gem should choose to do this. And if I do it, no other gem will have to. My choice, my burden.”

Connie sat there, silent throughout. It was Bismuth doing a Citrine impression, but no matter the voice, she was hearing words her mother had spoken. Connie listened, hanging on each and every word.

“There’s more than one Diamond. And the Emeralds? The Agates? Those upper crusts aren’t going to just walk away after you turn Pink Diamond into gravel. We need to arm everyone to win.”

“They’re still gems, Bismuth, even if they’re our enemy. Gems that deserve the chance to choose. Shattering them takes that away, so they can never make a choice again. If I let you do this, if I condoned this strategy and arm the Rebellion, I’d be no better than the Diamonds.” Her voice remained calm, but steel crept into it as the Citrine from the story spoke. “We win on Earth and we deal with what comes after.”

Bismuth’s voice was pleading and the moisture at her eyes wasn’t from getting splashed earlier. “This isn’t like you, Yellow! Where is any of this coming from? Burdens? ‘We’ll deal with what comes after?’ Come on! I’m talking decisive victory. That’s your thing, after all.”

“If it wasn’t clear before, I’ll make it clear now. No more of these and not a word about them. That’s an order, Bismuth.”

“Is this about Rose? Are you still hoping she’ll come back when this is all over?”

“Bismuth, I _will_ have your word on this.”

“No. You can’t have it. This is- I don’t even know what this is, but it isn’t how you win a war. I thought that’s what we were trying to do here. Even when one general proved too soft for the job, there was still you. But-” Bismuth’s voice hitched even as her tone grew angrier, “I guess I was wrong.”

“Have you made your choice?”

Bismuth mopped her eyes. “Yeah. I have.”

“Then you’ve made mine for me.”

There was the faint ‘drip drip’ of the faucet over the kitchen sink. The fabric of the couch rustled as Lapis shifted minutely, the cup being strangled in her grip. Connie’s hand had gone to her gemstone and just below it her power sink was making steady progress across the shades of green, blue, yellow, and orange.

“She won. That’s what she did. That’s what she always did, from the start of the Rebellion all the way to the end. Win, win, win.” Bismuth was holding one of her dreadlocks between two fingers, flipping it back and forth ruefully. “She beat Rose. She beat me. She beat Pink Diamond. And no matter how many Breaking Points I made, it wouldn’t have stopped whatever turned those gems into monsters. That means she won the war too, as much as it could be won.”

The smith rose to her feet, her teary eyes locked on Connie’s. Or on her gemstone; it was hard to tell. “Why did you keep me bubbled all this time?”

Connie’s throat felt too small and neither words nor air were coming up.

Bismuth took a step forward, shoving the coffee table hard into the couch. “Why lie to everyone after you’d won?”

Connie shook her head, fixed by the anger and hurt in those dark eyes.

The coffee table broke in half with a loud crack as Bismuth stepped on it, heedless of anything except Connie. “If you were going to take me away from everyone, if you were going to shatter my world, then you should have shattered me too! At least if I were in pieces, I wouldn’t have to know how wrong I’d been.”

Strong arms reached out and grabbed Connie, hauling the girl up until she was only inches away from Bismuth’s tear-stained cheeks. “Why keep me at all?!”

There was shouting and strong arms trying to pull them apart, but neither Bismuth’s grip nor her gaze let go of Connie.

“I don’t know!” cried the girl.

Bismuth blinked, her arms suddenly going slack. Connie collapsed into Peridot’s embrace while Jasper and Lapis hauled an unresisting Bismuth back.

“I don’t know,” repeated the girl, sobbing. She didn’t. She didn’t and she probably never would.

“I don’t either,” said Peridot, clutching Connie to her chest, her voice loud so close to Connie’s ears. “It seems unnecessary, or at least unnecessarily mysterious. Whatever Citrine’s reasons, she never saw fit to share them with me.” She looked at the other two gems in silent inquiry.

“Me neither,” breathed Lapis.

Jasper shook her head.

Bismuth looked from person to person, her expression bewildered. Finally she reached up and mopped her face with large palms, a false smile sliding up one cheek. “I guess that’s something we’ve all got in common then.” She patted where Jasper was holding her in a loose restraining grip. “It’s fine, Jaz. I’m fine.”

The warrior let go. Bismuth rolled her shoulders and straightened her back. “Hey, Green? I heard you had a forge in your room. Mind if I borrow it for a little while? I think better when I’ve got something to do and I’ve got a lot to think about.”

Peridot nodded. “Lapis, if you will direct her to appropriate location. I need to see Connie off to bed first.”

“Sure thing, Dot.” Taking Bismuth by the arm, she led the smith across the Beach House and through the temple door.

Jasper started to pick up the broken table pieces. Peridot scanned Connie and confirmed the girl was unharmed, then set her floating fingers to the task of gathering up all the smaller fragments of wood.

In a daze, Connie got ready to turn in for the night. Exhausted and with a lump in her chest, she curled up in bed.

The one thing that made sleep easier was that, this time, the gems didn’t know either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The art, Jasper and Bismuth cooking, came from BurdenKing.
> 
> Back in Ep18Ch3, Lapis gave an account of how she and Bismuth met, and how they subsequently (and violently) reconciled. Below is a doodle MJ did depicting the aftermath. Those two are fast friends, but it's the sort of friendship that involves a lot of sparring, verbal and otherwise.  
> 
> 
> Despite this being episode-length already, we're not done with the episode! Tune in Wednesday, June 20th for the conclusion of ~~Wolf 3~~   ~~Bismuth: Electric Swapperoo~~ _Only Yesterday_.
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	6. Scientist vs. Engineer

Connie's pillow was vibrating. This was very rude of her pillow because it was much too early for her tactile alarm to be going off. After all, if it was time to get up, she wouldn't be this tired; Q.E.D.

Eyes closed, Connie blindly groped around until she found and disabled the malfunctioning (and rude) alarm. In the process, her arm reported an ache. Whatever. Sleepy time. 

Pulling the covers up to her chin, Connie rolled over on her side and snuggled into the mattress, the friction feeling warm on her skin. Warm was good. Sleep was good. The ache she was feeling lying on her side? Not good.

She tried her other side. It was aching as well. Insubordination! She'd have to do something about her uncooperative extremities. After she was rested, of course.

Still refusing to open her eyes, she turned onto her back. Now her eyes were reporting too much light through the eyelids. The rude pillow became a rude face mask. Finally, with no more intrusions, Connie felt herself becoming one with her bed as she-

A tremor came up through the loft floor, making her mattress quiver for a second. The sigh that escaped Connie's lips was equal parts exasperation and resignation.

Rampaging monster? Exploding piece of unstable gemtech? Wolf going nuts because a seagull landed on the porch? Whatever the case, it was clear the world was just going to keep escalating until she woke up. Better to get it over with now before a spaceship dropped on the town or something.

Connie rose to find Bismuth and Peridot talking in the living room. Well, Bismuth was talking. Peridot might have been yelling. Also, her alarm had gone off when it was scheduled to and technically Connie had overslept. Her mental representation of Steven apologized to the slandered device but she wasn't feeling so magnanimous.

She picked her hearing aids up off the nightstand and registered the aches from earlier. A glance showed the start of two bruises, each near where her chest and armpits met. The memory of being angrily hauled off her feet over a shattered coffee table supplied the missing context. _Better not go sleeveless today,_ she thought as she put in her hearing aids.

"-ufficient density to crack the hardwood floor beneath! Do you know the lengths I have gone to to keep this dwelling's flooring in good condition?!"

Connie walked over to her dresser and assembled her outfit for the day, including a quarter-sleeve shirt. She began walking down the stairs from the loft, intent on skirting the others on her way to the bathroom.

"Sorry about that, Green. It won't be hard to fix, though. Replace the area with some textured steel and you're set. Heck, do the whole thing! Probably be easier to clean too."

Connie closed the bathroom door behind her, cutting off Peridot's response. Whatever it was, it didn't sound pleased. Dress. Wash her face. Comb her hair. She spent a few seconds looking at the bruises in the mirror. She hadn't felt it at the time, hadn't felt it at all that night, but Bismuth hadn't been gentle. Actually, considering what the gem looked capable of, maybe she had. 

Connie shrugged. It had been tense for everyone and no real harm had been done. Even the coffee table was an acceptable loss, the Beach House being no stranger to property damage. Nor, for that matter, was Connie any stranger to bruises. Monster fighting and all.

 _Hmm, ponytail or braid?_ Connie examined herself in the mirror for a final moment. Coming to her decision, she opened the door and walked into the noise of the living room, Peridot's half of the talk there to greet her.

"-make it out of an Era-1 alloy at all?!"

"Why not? Now Jaz and I could tap dance on that coffee table and it wouldn't so much as buckle. If this place gets hit by a meteor, you'll have somewhere in the crater to set your drink on. Plus," and Bismuth leaned in with a grin, "something comes in here looking for trouble, you've got a hundred and sixty-seven pounds of it to hit them with. Oh, and it's stain-resistant."

Sure enough, there was a new coffee table in place. It was shaped about the same as the old one, but it was made of a matte silvery metal that looked faintly familiar. One of the legs had splintered the floor beneath it. _Note to self: warn Steven the coffee table is now a class-ten toe-stubbing hazard._

Peridot was about to speak. Sensing it would do everyone involved good, Connie chose to interrupt. "Ma'am? Would you mind helping me braid my hair?"

"YES. I WOULD LOVE TO." It was said forcefully, rising just below a yell by the narrowest of margins. The technician guided Connie over to one of the bar stools, cutting a wide arc around the new table. With speed and industrial precision, the braiding process began.

Connie waved at Bismuth. "Good morning, Bismuth."

Bismuth smiled back, though she looked a little subdued. "Good morning, Connie." She nodded in the direction of the coffee table. "I made a new coffee table. Though it looks like I'm going to have to widen the feet to spread out the weight more. Wood," she shrugged. "What can you do?"

Connie didn’t really have a response to that, but she managed a noncommittal shrug. It might have been Connie's imagination but it felt like the pressure on her scalp had increased. Pushing that aside, Connie zeroed in on why the table had looked oddly familiar. "Is- Is that the same stuff mom's shield is made out of?"

Bismuth's grin widened. "Yeah, actually. The lotus design is made out of something different, fits the color better, but the buckler and the contact plate are." She patted the table with a heavy hand. "Now, what I've got here is the low-quality stuff. Strong but not as lightweight. I used the good stuff for that shield." Bismuth wiped her hands on her apron then hitched her thumbs on the yellow band. "You've got good eyes, though I guess that's not surprising."

Connie felt rather than saw the flinch behind her.

Peridot finished braiding and then stepped in front of Connie to examine her work. She gave an approving hum as Connie turned her head this way and that. Without warning, the gem sputtered as though choking on a drink.

Connie followed her guardian's gaze down and saw that the edge of one of her bruises was just barely visible. Connie quickly shook the fabric of her shirt and the sleeve that had gotten bunched up dropped back down, covering up the blemish.

The sound of the warp pad interrupted whatever would have come next, Jasper and Lapis appearing when the beam of light winked out. The blue gem skipped off the pad and into the middle of the room. "Mornin' gang. All attractive and talented Crystal Gems, it's mission time! Oh, and you can come too, Bismuth."

The smith stuck out her tongue. Lapis did the same, both gems radiating mirth.

Jasper stepped adjacent to Lapis. "Lots of sensor towers got busted. Time to start fixing them."

Connie slid off the bar stool and jogged across the house to grab her mission gear. Lapis tagged along. Jasper spent a moment to examine the new table, lifting one side of the heavy piece of furniture up and nodding approvingly to the smith.

Peridot busied herself in the kitchen. "Connie, you may wish to bring reading materials or course work with you in case the repairs are time-consuming. Additionally, I will prepare your breakfast for transport; you can eat once we have arrived and secured the area."

A few minutes passed with the Beach House a hive of activity. After Bismuth made sure Connie had swords enough for the mission, the final preparations were made.

A quartet of floating fingers hovered across the living room, depositing a laden picnic basket into Jasper's outstretched palm. "You three may go ahead. I need to gather some final materials and components I'm likely to need for the repair effort. Bismuth can assist."

The smith smiled. "Sure thing, Green." Calling to the trio heading for the warp pad she said, "Don't go fixing all the sensor towers without us. I'm looking at you, Jaz." Jasper's subtle grin grew fractionally. 

Connie joined Lapis in waving as the Beach House vanished in a flash of light. Gravity became more suggestion than not as they hurtled through… wherever the warp went. Last night had ended dramatically and there'd been tension this morning, so Connie was glad for a mission to keep things from getting bogged down in drama.

* * *

The temple door opened wide, admitting the stocky grey smith and the lanky green technician.

Bismuth patted Peridot on the back, the force causing the comparatively small gem to half-stumble. "Thanks again for letting me use your forge. Once I see if my old one is still working then I can get out of your hair. And if it's not, I'll just build a new one!"

If Bismuth was the boisterous teammate, Peridot was the serious-faced coworker. She gave a thin smile and rounded on the rainbow-haired gem. "Happy to assist. However, before we gather the mission materials, there is one matter I must raise with you."

Bismuth gave an easy smile, thick arms resting on her hips. "Sure. What's up?"

Peridot walked over and examined the baby gate installed along the main approach to her workbench, there to keep tiny explorers from harm. "When you reformed in Citrine's sanctuary, I told you to be gentle with Connie. Despite possessing a Quartz gemstone, she is not significantly more robust than a fit human of her age and build."

Bismuth's smile narrowed and her brows furrowed a little. "If this is about last night-"

Peridot continued as though the smith hadn't spoken, her voice calm and casual. While she did she ran a floating finger along the top of the baby gate as if checking for dust. "I noticed signs of hematoma in the areas where you seized Connie. In case you are unaware, that is when capillaries are ruptured by trauma, allowing blood to escape into the interstitial tissues like coolant leaking from a burst pipe."

Bismuth turned and looked at the door, then back at Peridot. "Whoa. Look, I didn't mean to do any of... all of that. Do we need to get her some fountain water or, I dunno, one of those shamans humans have?"

Peridot finally looked up from the gate and met Bismuth's eyes. "She has bruises. Provided she's allowed to heal, she'll be fine." 

Bismuth reached up and scratched the side of her head, her demeanor still uncertain. "Oh. That's good."

Peridot took a step forward, her primary limb enhancer curling into an upraised fist as though she were crushing something in her palm-equivalent. "Everything about Era-1 spoke of strength. Gems, structures, ships, all built with considerable size and power. Large, robust, and expensive." She lowered the fist-equivalent, looking instead at her rebuilt limb enhancer. Two delicate tendril-assisted fingers moved under her view. "Connie and I are not of that era. We are made otherwise. We are capable, powerful, but we are not sculpted mountains of resources like you Era-1s."

Bismuth crossed her arms across her broad chest. Her posture was defensive. Her eyes told Peridot to get to her point.

"You can insult my stature, damage my flooring, and question my choice of building materials. It is nothing Jasper and Lapis haven't done a dozen times over. But the others have proven that they hold Connie's wellbeing as paramount importance." A single tendril-finger was jabbed forward like the lance of a knight charging. Peridot advanced on the smith. "You have proven no such thing and, after recent events, I am not inclined to be generous. As such, I will offer you the following assurance to help guide you: if you meaningfully harm Connie or fail to do your utmost to safeguard her-" The finger began to crackle with yellow energy. A moment later and the second finger added its length to the first, the ersatz disruptor jabbed threateningly in Bismuth's direction. "I will personally see you returned to bubble-stasis."

Bismuth stepped back, keeping her distance. Whatever the crackle of yellow meant, she wasn't in any rush to find out.

"Have I made my position abundantly clear?" Peridot halted her advance but the electrical buzz continued.

The smith frowned. "Crystal."

The destabilizer turned off. The tendril-fingers returned to their default positions. Peridot gave a satisfied nod of her head. "Excellent. That resolved, we can gather the needed materials and catch up with the others."

* * *

The sun was in the same place overhead as it had been in Beach City, so Connie decided to risk it and take her phone off of airplane mode. A check of the map app showed them to be in rural Delmarva, far from home but not so far her dad would be reminding her that international data rates were a thing.

The terrain was a gently sloping patchwork of farmland, with the green canopy of a forest visible along the horizon to the south. Somewhere off in the distance a cow was lowing. It was warm, hot even, and it wasn't long before Connie was missing the steady ocean breeze back home.

Handing the basket of food to Lapis, Jasper jogged ahead to secure the area, the warrior leaping fences with casual ease. Connie and Lapis had a fun talk during the hike to the sensor tower, the pair content to climb all but the barbed wire fences. Those Lapis flew them over.

The area around the sensor tower was churned up, grass browning where it'd been pulled free, exposed earth baking into an uneven and hard surface. The sensor tower itself had a mound of dirt piled up on one side where some force had caused it to plow through the earth like a bulldozer. A network of deep cracks ran through three of the pyramid's four visible faces.

A ways distant, Jasper was urging a quintet of cows away from the area.

Sitting on the grassy edge of the destruction, Connie and Lapis spread out a blanket and began unpacking the breakfast picnic. A force field was summoned overhead to provide partial shelter from the summer sunlight.

Around the time Connie was finishing her breakfast sandwich (scrambled eggs and patty sausage between the halves of a sliced croissant), Peridot and Bismuth approached. The silence between them was deep.

Lapis waved. "Hey slowpokes."

Bismuth smiled and waved with her free hand, thick bundles of greenish metal tucked under her other arm like a lumberjack carrying chopped wood. Peridot nodded and set down the luggage-sized box of components she'd transported via tractor beam.

Jasper jogged back. "No hostile gems spotted. I've chased away those cows. Let's get to work."

Peridot was already pacing a wide circle around the tower, her primary limb enhancer scanning. A growing cloud of holograms appeared around her, data tabulating into the air around her as she went.

Bismuth, meanwhile, set down her cylinders of metal, walked over, and thumped the side of the structure. She listened intently to the sound it made. Apparently satisfied with what she'd heard, she shapeshifted her hands into big scoops and became clearing dirt away at an impressive rate.

Lapis and Connie sat and watched, each enjoying their half of a biscuit slathered with jam. Jasper stood nearby, head tracking back and forth, watching the two work while she scanned the area for threats.

Peridot finished her circuit and scrutinized several of the holograms. "I'll need an estimated two hours to fabricate and replace the damaged components. I can patch the exterior swiftly enough, but realigning the broadcast matrix will require another hour. Three-point-five hours in total, with additional allowances needed in the event of the unforeseen."

The last bit of earth went flying and Bismuth trotted over, the smith's eyes locked on the cracked structure. "Why not just coat the damaged areas in unobtanium, weld a strut here and here to keep the whole thing stable, and then slap a bigger broadcaster on it? You'd be done in two hours tops."

Arms crossed, one of Peridot's tendril-fingers tapped a staccato pattern on her shoulder. As she spoke, floating fingers hovered up to count off her points. "For one, the tower would no longer gather the fidelity of data I strive for within my detection network. For another, we have precious little unobtanium, nor can we manufacture more. And finally, it's an inelegant solution to just build it bigger and dumber to compensate for damages."

"Inelegant? Green, I think you mean better. And faster. And stronger. Something tries to scratch up this tower again and it'll bounce right off. Then you're not out here right after gluing these dainty components of yours back together. And unobtanium? That's easy. Hey Yel-" Bismuth coughed. "I mean, Connie. You got a pencil on you? Pass it here."

Connie pulled a notepad and pencil out of her backpack and tossed them underhand to the smith. Bismuth wrote for a little while, tore out a page and then tossed the items back to Connie. She turned and held out the sheet of paper to Peridot. "Here you go. Unobtanium."

Peridot harrumphed and turned away from the offering. Slowly, though, her head turned and looked over her shoulder, the rainbow-haired gem visible in her peripheral vision. With a dismissive sniff, Peridot whipped her head forward and squared her shoulders, the picture of defiance.

A pair of floating fingers rose to grip at her hair and one of her gravity connectors began to tap frenetically. Turning on her heel-equivalent, Peridot pointed at the smith and opened her mouth to say something... but nothing came out. Her mouth snapped shut and she stared at the paper like it had offended her. She reached out, paused, returned her hand-equivalent to her side...

...then lunged forward and snatched up the paper. She held it inches in front of her face, reading hungrily. Her eyebrows were threatening to climb off her face when when she remembered others were present. Straightening up, she cleared her throat and said in an uneven voice, "I will need to... verify this formula. This tower is an acceptable, erm, test case for you to demonstrate your material's properties."

Lapis was smirking. Jasper wasn't, but in a way that made it even more conspicuous than if she had been. Connie, dabbing her mouth with a napkin, looked a mix of amused and concerned. Bismuth's eyes twinkled. 

"Hehe, whatever you say, Green. Alright, time to get down to _Bismuth_. Raindrop, I'll need a trough of water over there. Jaz, you're on firewood detail. Also, bring me something flat I can hammer on."

Connie raised her hand like she was in class. "Oh, uh, would a force field work?"

Bismuth's smile, somehow, broadened. "I think that'd work great. Put one at about this height and I'll start hammering out some plates." She reached down and grabbed a greenish cylinder, one hand already turning into an oversized hammer.

Field summoned, hammer upraised, Bismuth was just about to pound the metal flat when she faltered. Sparing a glance back at Peridot, she turned to Connie and said, "You should stand back a ways. You know, for safety."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	7. Present Tense

An hour and forty-five minutes later, the tower was rebuilt.

Peridot's usual repair work had a patchwork quality to it. Newer material would leave a visible seam alongside the old, but it otherwise left the structure looking... if not new then at least tidy.

Bismuth's repair job, in contrast, was like someone had wrapped the tower in armor and topped it with a wicked-looking spike. It looked that way because that was by-and-large what Bismuth had done, the spike being a reinforced broadcast array that ‘could skewer a dropship.'

Peridot had a holographic display up while her primary limb enhancer sampled the signals coming off the structure. She was frowning, but it was impossible to know if that was because it wasn't working, or because it was.

"Well~" singsonged Lapis, hovering like an oversized bluebird of happiness over Peridot's shoulder.

"Expected degradation of data quality aside, it appears to be operating within acceptable boundaries. However, the outer range of the proximity sensor is picking up activity." The green gem pointed. "Go and investigate approximately four hundred-and-fifty yards in that direction and confirm the veracity of this detection. I will continue my examination."

"Yes ma'am," answered Connie, the girl already buckling the saber back into place on her hip.

Two hopped fences later and Lapis, Bismuth, Jasper, and Connie were watching a large purple bear-dog monster paw at the fence it had just knocked over.

The gemstone was on the back of one leg and it was the wrong shade of purple, but it still made Connie think of Amethyst. _It's okay now. She and Pearl are going to build their ship and go home,_ she told the knot of guilt in her stomach. The knot didn't seem wholly convinced.

Bismuth gave a low whistle. "That's really an Amethyst, huh?" The others nodded. "That's not going to look normal to me anytime soon." She squinted at it, one broad palm raised to shade her eyes. "You think she was one of theirs?" Her free hand shapeshifted into a barbed hook that gleamed with a razor-sharp edge.

Jasper shrugged. "No way to know. Plenty of Amethysts on both sides. Doesn't matter, though. Poof and bubble either way."

The hook shifted into a spearhead, still dangerous but absent the other's aura of menace. "I mean, sure, a bubble's a bubble. But _how_ you get there..."

She lapsed into silence as Lapis glared, arms crossed, and Jasper looked faintly sad.

"Right. 'Quick and painless' it is," muttered the smith as she shifted the finishing touches into the spear-arm.

The tension fell from the others' shoulders, Lapis even going so far as to crack a smile.

Bismuth grinned. "I know that look, Blue. You two are going to stand there while I do all the work, aren't you?"

Lapis' smile deepend and she settled daintily onto a nearby stump. "I mean, _I'm_ going to sit while you do it, but pretty much. Gotta let the rookie-" Bismuth snorted at the sheer cheek of that remark. "-learn the ropes. But don't worry, we'll let Con-con help you out."

Bismuth shook her head, muttering dire imprecations through a grin. Then she turned to Connie, eyes bright. "You're my backup, huh?"

Connie nodded feeling like the person on the outside of an in-joke and unsure if she was allowed to laugh. She settled for a polite smile.

Bismuth crouched down, spear-arm pointed carefully away from the girl. "Alright. I'll head over there, you panic it, and I'll finish it off."

Connie blinked. "Panic it? Like, clap my hands and shout?"

Bismuth looked at her funny. "What? No. Oh, maybe it's different for corruptions. Alright, can you enrage it instead? It'll charge you, you stall it with some force fields, I hit it from behind. One hit and poof!"

Connie shook her head. "I still don't- Enrage it? They're usually pretty aggressive but-"

There was a cough and Connie and Bismuth both turned to look at the others. Lapis was using that smile that didn't reach her eyes, the one that usually came before, _So, about those donuts you were going to eat..._ "Hey, BM, we've got a rule about not telling Connie about stuff her mama could do. Need to wait until she figures it out herself."

"Really? Why?" // "Mom could panic and enrage enemies?!" said Bismuth and Connie over one another.

"Citrine made us promise," was Jasper's reply to the smith.

"Connie's part human. They grow and learn stuff, it might be the same way with powers. She wanted Connie to discover these things for herself. You know, in case it let her do things Connie-style instead of being Citrine: the sequel." Lapis' smile grew more genuine as she said, "And, hey, it's worked! A little, anyway. Girlie's got some moves her mama never had."

Bismuth gave her an appraising look. "That so?"

Connie blanched a little at being put on the spot to brag. Lapis, however, had no trouble stepping in. "She can do the electrical thing better than her mom and she does it without the sword. She can also keep a force field running on her shield without having to touch it."

That made Bismuth's eyebrows shoot up. "Really?"

Lapis ruffled Connie's hair. "Yup. Her boyfriend carries the shield and he protects her in battle. It's super adorable." The gem was wearing a weapons-grade smirk.

That sort of teasing would have embarrassed Connie under any circumstances, but with Bismuth there it was a thousand times worse. Connie's ears were flushed, her cheeks were burning, and her throat felt like it was too narrow for the words and air she needed in that moment. Rejecting any nuanced response, Connie settled for burying her face in her hands and saying at a near-shriek, "LAAAPIIIS!"

The gem monster raised its head and cast an eyeless stare in their direction. There was a growl in the back of its throat as it squared up. A second later and it was charging at them.

 _There's nothing like a monster barreling toward you to help you prioritize._ Connie pushed back the desire to burn away in flames of pure embarrassment and stood up, drawing her saber. As soon as the monster got in range, she summoned a force field for it to crash headlong into. The field buckled but held. Barely.

Bismuth rose to her feet, brandished her spear, and whooped. "Woohoo! Come over here and show me what you're made of!" The smith ran over and around so that she was the closest target to the corrupted gem and not blocked by the field. "I am powerful! I am important! I! Am! A Crystal Gem!"

Meanwhile, Jasper cuffed Lapis upside the head. "Ow!" said the blue gem, her smirk unconquered. "Worth it." 

Another cuff from the warrior. "Ow! Still worth it."

After a third blow, Lapis ducked and waved her off. "Ow! Okay, having regrets."

The gem monster turned from the barely-intact field and advanced on the loud, menacing target. Jabbing with her spear-arm, Bismuth forced the beast to advance cautiously, large purple paws swiping at the weapon. Bismuth lunged, going for a skewering strike but the beast was surprisingly nimble and twisted aside, the spear scoring a long scrape along one flank instead of delivering a poofing blow.

Bulling forward, the monster attempted to knock the smith over and trample her. Bismuth met the charge, heels digging into the soil as she was pushed back. She was undaunted, but so close into her guard, the smith was unable to bring the spear to bear. A melee ensued, the two struggling and surprisingly well-matched in strength. When the corrupted gem tried gnawing on Bismuth’s shapeshifted forearm, she turned her free hand into the massive hammer from before and delivered a haymaker that made Connie and Lapis wince in sympathy.

The monster was thrown back a few feet and was briefly stunned. Bismuth jogged back a ways to give her spear room. Sensing the danger, the corrupted gem tried to close the distance but Connie summoned a waist-high force field between the combatants. The barrier did nothing to stop the chest-height blow Bismuth delivered, sinking the spear all the way up to her elbow.

The beast had a split-second to convey surprise before there was an eruption of purple smoke. A dull thump heralded a gemstone dropping to the pasture.

Arm returning to normal, Bismuth reached down and tapped the purple stone, a rainbow-hued bubble enveloping it. "That was a rush!"

The others approached. Jasper punched the smith in the shoulder. "Nice."

"Thanks, Jaz. That was really different from fighting a normal Amethyst."

The Quartz gave a minute nod of agreement. "You get used to it."

"Took you long enough," quipped Lapis. She elbowed Jasper and said, "They were dancing around so much, I thought they were going to fuse."

Bismuth laughed and her forearm turned into a long, serrated corkscrew. "I've got something you can fuse with, Blue." Limb returning to normal she clapped a heavy hand on Connie's shoulder. "Thanks for the assists out there. Good thinking with the low barrier."

Connie nodded. "H-Happy to help."

The group turned and began walking back toward Peridot and the sensor tower. With a smile on her face and a bubble hovering an inch above her free hand, Bismuth asked, "So, what's next?"

Jogging a little to keep up, Connie answered, "Actually, we're pretty much done. I mean, unless something else comes up on the sensor."

"Rebuild the doohickey," said Lapis.

"Bubble the gem," added Jasper.

"That's how these missions usually go," finished Connie. A thought occurred to her and she paused in her tracks, the others slowing to a stop and looking her way. "Hey, this was Bismuth's first mission. Since the war, I mean."

Receiving a pat on the back from Jasper, the smith said, "I guess it was." Raising her arm, she brought the bubble up to face height, staring into it like a crystal ball. "So this is life on Earth without the war." She shook her head. "Still sounds weird saying it."

Then she looped Connie and Lapis into a side hug with one large, muscular arm, the other hooking over Jasper's neck and draping over her shoulders. "But that was fun! Who's up for two more? Heck, three if we hustle!"

* * *

Jasper was indefatigable because she just kept going, five hours of patrol having the same effect on her as five minutes. Bismuth, in contrast, was simply too enthusiastic to stop. 

With the smith in the lead, all other concerns were pushed aside in a rush of infectious zeal. That was why the group returned home late and with Connie on the brink of exhaustion. 

The girl scarfed a quick meal, guzzled her drink, and then spent the next hour floating in the bathtub waiting for the exertions of the day to seep out. It was peaceful in the water with her hearing aids out. She couldn’t really hear but then, she wouldn’t have been able to normally, transfer with Steven or not. Her brain seemed to recognize that fact and so a tiny part of her that kept reporting the strangeness of the sounds (or lack thereof) around her took a break.

She was relaxed. And she was going to be _so_ sore in the morning.

Eventually she’d spent enough time turning into a prune. She drained the water and toweled herself dry but she paused before putting on her pajamas. There was something that still felt incomplete, a task that needed doing before she could fully shift into bedtime mode. Not entirely sure why, Connie slipped her hearing aids back in and got dressed.

Jasper was sitting at her spot on the couch reading, one hand holding her book, the other hand scratching the large yellow hound who was sprawled out and resting his head in her lap. The warrior gave her an acknowledging nod before going back to her book.

Lapis had gone into her room shortly after they’d gotten back. Presumably Peridot had done the same after making sure Connie had enough for dinner. The windows showed Bismuth standing on the porch, looking out at the night.

Connie stepped out, gingerly closing the front door behind her. Bismuth was leaning against the porch railing, which didn’t quite reach the large gem’s waist. 

She turned and saw Connie. “Hey. It’s nice out tonight.”

Connie walked over and hummed her agreement. She’d certainly come to miss the ocean breeze while spending the day inland. “Doing anything?” she asked.

Bismuth looked back over the bay and the sky above. “Looking at the stars. They’re different. Familiar but not the same. Five thousand years and stuff moves around, even those.”

It was at that moment that Connie realized just how _ancient_ Bismuth was. All the gems were old by human standards, and Lapis was old even compared to other gems. But all of them had walked from the past into the present one day at a time. They all felt like they belonged. Bismuth, however, had been fighting in the Rebellion three days ago, or so it felt to her, and now she was here. She was like a walking archeological find.

A walking, _talking_ archeological find. Connie couldn’t help herself.

“What were things like? During the war?”

Bismuth looked at Connie and for a moment seemed confused, as though she was asking what it was like to have blue skies overhead. Then understanding dawned. “Oh, right. I forget not everyone was there. It was… messy. Loud. Fun. Boring for weeks at a time and then messier and louder than ever.” She shrugged, broad shoulders bobbing up and down as muscle rippled beneath. “You want to know anything in particular, Alloy?”

“Alloy?”

Bismuth smiled. “I have to call you something and ‘Yellow,’ well, you’re not her.” She stopped, glanced around the patio to confirm it was empty, then gave Connie a questioning look. “You’re really not, right?”

Connie shook her head, hand moving to her gemstone. “No. It’s just me. Believe me, I’ve looked. I even tried really hard once to shine a light at the scrape on my stone, you know, in case there was a hidden message written on it. Nothing.” Looking a little guilty she added, “In my defense, I had just finished reading a Dan Brown novel beforehand.”

Bismuth leaned in close and peered at the stone. “Oh, yeah, would you look at that. I wonder how that happened? A hit like that looks like it would crack a gem if it were any closer. It’d have to be superficial, though, otherwise fountain water would have cleaned that right up.”

“Wait, mom didn’t always have this?”

Bismuth’s dreads swayed with the negation. “No. Almost no one could ever get close to Citrine. She was the real deal with that sword of hers. And first they’d have to get through Jasper. Or, before the split, Rose.” Bismuth chuckled. “And good luck doing that!” With a bit of proprietary pride, she added, “That shield I made her wasn’t exactly tinfoil either.”

Connie was quiet as her brain tried to sort these new nuggets of information, rotating them to see if they fit into anything like the world’s most complicated game of Tetris. A minute or two passed in silence. “The others don’t like to talk about Rose, or what things were like before the Schism.” She’d considered asking Bismuth directly, the bluff gem seemed pretty forward, but opted for the unspoken invitation instead.

Bismuth scratched an ear. “I guess Green wouldn’t know. Jaz didn’t like Rose even before she split the Rebellion. Jaz wanted-”

Bismuth paused and looked at Connie. Connie gave a lopsided grin. “I think I know about how Jasper felt about mom. It… came up a while back.”

The smith tapped the side of her nose. Looking back out at the bay, she continued. “And by the time Raindrop showed up, Yellow and Pink were already fighting over how everyone should fight.” Bismuth sighed. “It was a shame, the whole thing. They were better together. Like copper and tin making bronze. Oh, but not in a fusion way,” she said hastily. “Pink and Yellow never did the fusion thing. Which I always thought was odd because, man, can you imagine what they would have made?! Malachite would have looked overcooked in comparison!”

The thought had occurred to Connie but she’d never dared voice it to anyone but Steven. He’d had a fusion chart that needed filling, after all. And that excited grin of his.

“Anyway, Alloy, the thing to remember is that, even though Citrine apparently finished the job, Rose was the one who really got the Rebellion rolling.”

“Really?” A corner of Connie’s mind made an excited, _YES! Details!_ but was promptly shushed by the rest of her so that she could pay attention.

“Rose was always the lustrous one. Everyone loved Rose and Rose loved everyone. Even at the beginning.” Bismuth puffed up with pride, a thumb pointing at her chest. “I would know: you’re talking to one of the first Crystal Gems.”

“Even before Jasper?”

“Jaz wasn’t even injected yet when I joined, the upstart!” Bismuth chuckled. “Anyway, there was this spire out in the middle of some ocean. Upper crusts were adamant that they wanted it to extend below the surface of the water but didn’t want it to be submerged. Another special job for the thinkers.” She shook her head. “Some gems, right?”

Connie didn’t really know what to say but she made a noise that she hoped implied whatever Bismuth was looking for.

“I was putting in an exterior wall when I heard a voice. They were talking about love and choice, freedom and the Earth. The usual stuff thinkers talk about wasn’t load-bearing, if you catch my meaning, but this was different. I listened and it, well, it was sturdy stuff. Completely crazy, but interesting.”

“What happened next?”

“I shook it off and got back to work. You gotta understand, I just assumed some thinker was thinking a little too hard. They’d get thumped for stepping on some upper crust’s pet idea and, besides, I had an underwater-but-not-submerged spire to build. I went down a level for some more materials, trying to keep my head on the job.” Bismuth leaned back, wearing a small smile as she stared out at the night sky. “Then that’s when I saw her.”

“Mom?”

“No, Rose Quartz. She was a soldier, one of Pink’s little pet projects to show the other Diamonds her chops. Formed on Earth, built for battle, but she spoke better than the speakers and thought better than the thinkers. She stomped them, and it was only when the Agates decided to get involved that I even realized there was someone else with her. Citrine threw that sword of hers, made them back off, gave her and Rose time to slip away. That was the two of them in a nutshell: Rose nurturing the seeds of rebellion and Citrine doing what she had to so Homeworld’s boot didn’t stomp them out.”

Bismuth sighed, looking a little wistful. “At first a lot of us thought Citrine was just sort of Rose’s bodyguard. Sometimes I think Citrine thought that too. Your mom could talk and think and fight every bit as good as Rose, but she preferred to let her actions say it for her. She was always a little embarrassed when she had to give a speech, actually. I think she hated that almost more than fighting Homeworld with only half her forces, but, hey, with Rose gone someone had to do it.” Bismuth snorted. “It sure as schist wasn’t going to be me. Or Obsidian. Or Lapis or Jasper.”

Connie felt a faint warmth in her stomach at the thought that a fear of public speaking was something she had in common with her mom.

Bismuth expression shifted, her tone almost sad. “After what she said at the end, when she and I… Well, maybe she never really gave up on Rose. Or maybe she felt like there had to be _a_ Rose so she got… Rosier. I thought she’d cracked but…” She gestured to the bay and then the night sky. “Here we are and the Earth with us. She really did let her actions do the talking and if this isn’t the best last word possible, I don’t know what is.”

The sounds of the surf below, the faint whoosh of the wind was all that filled the silence. Eventually Connie looked up. Peridot had pointed out Homeworld’s place in the night sky before. “Peridot says Rose is still out there.”

Bismuth must have been lost in her own thoughts because she was slow to answer. “Oh? Did Homeworld bubble her or something?”

“No. At least, it doesn’t sound like it. Peridot was living in Homeworld space a couple centuries ago and she said that when she was there, Rose Quartz was the scariest servant of the Diamonds.”

Bismuth’s eyebrows shot way, way up and a tuneless whistle escaped her mouth. “Now _that’s_ the strangest thing I’ve heard in five thousand years.” She followed Connie’s gaze up. “Well, if Yellow got pinker at the end, maybe Pink got yellower.” She shook her head. “Such a shame.”

She reached out and put her hand on Connie’s back, just behind her neck, and for a while the past and future drifted away. Whatever the gulf of time and experience between them, they were both here, now, in a shared present. That was enough.

The sound of the door caused them both to turn around. Jasper stood there, with Lapis beside her. Peridot stood just inside, waiting for the others to clear the way.

“Nice out,” said Jasper.

Bismuth smiled. “It is. Just looking at the stars with Alloy here. Want to join us?”

Jasper walked over to Connie’s left. Lapis strolled over to Bismuth’s right and said, “You get one freebie, but all future Connie nicknames must be approved by me.” Bismuth gave her a playful shove.

Peridot looked like she wanted to try and wedge herself somewhere in the mix but the technician ultimately walked over to Jasper’s left. “I imagine the star field looks foreign to you from the five millennia of stellar drift.”

“It does! I didn’t notice it at first. Just one more thing to get used to.”

Connie licked her lips, the aura of _‘new person, don’t embarrass yourself’_ surrounding Bismuth making Connie’s tongue just that much heavier. “I- I’m glad you here.”

Lapis leaned forward past Bismuth’s barrel chest and looked at the girl. Her smirk visible in the dim light. “Now Connie, you go and start being nice to Auntie Bismuth and she’ll start to expect the same from all of us. We can’t have that.”

Bismuth placed her elbow on Lapis’ shoulders and leaned down, pinning the blue gem against the rail. “You win a war for freedom of choice and you choose to be a jerk?” She chuckled and eased off after Lapis summoned a water wing and gave her a wet willie. Using a finger to rub the inside of her ear, she said, “There’s no hope for some gems. And thanks, Alloy. I’m glad to be here too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!


	8. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After you finish reading this chapter, there are related omake stories you might want to check out:  
> [Pet Store](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/34730564) by [br42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- Having recently discovered Wolf's pocket dimension, Connie demonstrates it for Steven. Peridot is there to supervise. What they learn changes everything.
> 
> [Twinkle, Twinkle](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10673391/chapters/37243871) by [br42](http://archiveofourown.org/users/br42/pseuds/br42) \- During a relaxed evening of stargazing, Steven asks the gems where they're all from.

It had been late when she’d gone to bed. Her head had been spinning with the new information but her body had overruled all that and she’d fallen into an exhausted doze. When she woke up it was because her mouth was dry and parched. Blinking her eyes open she started to reach for the glass on her bedside when-

There was dim light in the Beach House, the familiar glow of someone, probably Lapis, raiding the fridge. Moving stealthily, Connie reached up and snagged a hearing aid, bringing it back down so she could slide it into her ear.

“-lling you, cold pizza is one of the reasons the Earth was worth saving. You’re missing out, BM.”

“If it isn’t spicy, it isn’t for me.” Bismuth’s voice dropped in volume a little. “Also, should we take this outside, Raindrop?”

The light of the fridge vanished but there was a glow from the living room that framed Lapis as she headed for the couch. Maybe one of Peridot’s LED lanterns turned way down? “Naw. Girlie takes her hearing aids out at night. You could have a malfunctioning Wailing Stone in here and she wouldn’t notice. But I’ll check just to keep softie ol’ Auntie Bismuth from getting worried,” she said, finishing the statement in an exaggeratedly condescending voice.

Quietly as she could, Connie rolled over on her side facing the wall. She tried to will her breathing to slow down. Her mouth reminded her she was thirsty but she ignored it. Snooping first, water later.

A moment later and there was a noise of the couch creaking. “See, out cold. Like this delicious pizza that you should totally be trying.”

“Ask me after you find some fire salt.” Lapis snorted and Bismuth continued. “I need another crash course, Blue. You and Jaz were helpful the first night but I saw contrails earlier and thought it was a dropship. I nearly kicked the door in before I remembered those aren’t a problem anymore. Clearly this peace thing is going to take a while to sink in.”

There was a sound of chewing, followed by, “Sure. Where do you want to start?”

“When did Citrine get that scrape on her gem?”

“Near the end of the war. Honestly, after you dished last night I half-expected you to say you gave it to her. She always seemed a little sentimental about it.”

There was a period of silence followed by the sound of cold pizza disappearing. Eventually Bismuth asked, “What’s up with this corruption business?”

There was a pause. “Sorry, I’m just not used to hearing you say, ‘business.’”

“Yeah, I don’t want my name associated with whatever corruption is. So, what is it?”

“Bad news, that’s what. Homeworld’s final raspberry to the world as they left.”

“Sure, but what’s it do? Are the gems shapeshifted and stuck like that?” asked Bismuth.

More chewing from Lapis. Connie was tempted to turn and look but remembered just how tall Bismuth was and decided against it. Another swallow and, “No. Actually, kinda yes. Only it’s not just their bodies that’re stuck. It’s their minds too. They look like monsters and they think like ‘em.”

Bismuth’s voice took on a familiar joking tone to it. “So why aren’t you twenty feet tall and farting geysers, Blue?”

There was a noise of movement and then a sharp inhalation of breath. 

Connie covertly dialed her hearing aid up as loud as it could go, then had to suppress a flinch when Bismuth said, “Whoa. Does that-”

“No, it’s fine, you dum-dum,” drawled Lapis. “And for the record, I could totally fart geysers if I wanted to, twenty feet tall or not.”

There was the sound of a plate rapping against something hard and metallic, presumably the new coffee table. “We’re all out of pizza. Come on, BM. There’s this place in Empire where showing up at three in the morning with blue skin gets you a discount.”

“Heh, sure, Blue.” There was the sound of the couch creaking and then footsteps heading for the warp pad. “Hey, what would grey skin get me?”

“Probably the question, ‘Are you a troll?’”

“Am I?” Bismuth’s grin was audible.

“Absolutely. Just tell them your horns are hidden in that Skittles hair of y-”

The sound of the warp pad swallowed the end of the sentence.

Connie lay there in the silence pondering furiously. A beat later she was pondering furiously while draining her glass of water.

At some point sleep snuck up on Connie, but her dreams were filled with trying to make the Tetris pieces fit.

* * *

Bismuth sat on the couch, feet propped up on the sturdy new coffee table. She had her eyes closed so she could see better.

Durasteel exterior with unobtanium at the seams. Transparent aluminum for windows, taller to give a commanding view of land and sky. Sixteen granite pylons sunk at least fifty meters into the ground in a four-by-four grid, with a proper foundation built on top of that. Buttresses coated with ship plating to really shore things up and harden the battlements. A row of light cannons on lockable casters with crenelations shaped to fit the width of the barrels. Then there’d be a moat, industrial solvent, the kind that even Nephrites get nervous about, with sharpened stakes made out of the solvent container lining just below the liquid’s surface. You wouldn’t know they were there until you landed on them. And a bridge with a sideways hinge built in so you could dump anyone dumb enough to try the obvious way in. Next there’d be-

“Hey, Auntie- I mean, hey Bismuth?”

Bismuth opened her eyes and saw Connie standing nearby in her sleeping clothes. The shirt covered up Citrine, which made it easier to look at her and not feel that pre-fight itch. “Yeah, Alloy. What’s going on?”

“Sorry, were you sleeping?” asked the girl.

Bismuth smiled. “No. I was thinking about how I’d renovate the Beach House if I got the chance. Old habit. Keeps me occupied when I’m not busy.”

She rubbed one eye and returned the smile. “Oh? Anything specific?”

“Bigger windows, for one.”

“Nice. Well,” and Connie looked a little unsure about something though the smile remained in place, “Steven’s on his way over and I just wanted to w- I mean, he’s excited to meet you.”

“And I’m excited to meet him. Always good to say ‘hi’ to the locals. What’s he prefer? Axes? Hammers? I can whip up a glaive real quick if you think it’d make a good impression.”

“Um, he really likes his shield. Your shield. Mom’s shield?” She shook her head. “That shield.”

“Oooh, I didn’t know he was that guy. Forget what I said before. A glaive isn’t going to _cut it_ when he’s used something of that quality.”

She waited but the joke didn’t get a laugh. Ah well, humans weren’t at their sharpest waking up. Blue could be the same way. Bismuth had tried sleep but found the dreams disturbing. Always fighting, which was fine, fighting was usually a good time. But in the dreams everyone around her was poofing. Shattering. Screaming. If only they’d stop screaming, she wouldn’t be hunting them down.

She blinked. Oh, Connie had gone. What was it she’d said? Bathroom. Right, one of those other things humans did.

There was a knock at the door. Bismuth got up and walked over, taking a moment to chuckle at the little sabers by the door. They were cute. Decent craftsmanship too. 

Opening the door she saw a human, probably male but it was honestly a little hard to tell when they wore pants. No facial hair, but plenty of head hair, thick brown curls pulled back into a ponytail that was trying its level best to break free. Stocky for his size, pink shirt and shorts, a weird backpack that looked like someone had made a shell out of food, plus some kind of shoes that were barely shoes.

Like the sabers, he was cute. A squishy little Quartz.

Bismuth crouched down a little. The boy, Steven, was looking at her with big eyes. His mouth had dropped open, and he seemed to be breathing heavy. She smiled, usually a good way to open things, and said, “Hey meatball. Are you Steven? Connie said you were coming over. She’ll be out soon. Anyway, I’m Bismuth.”

His mouth open and closed a few times and his breathing seemed to get faster. It kind of reminded her of introducing new recruits to Jasper. The Quartzes especially seemed to forget how to form words for the first minute or two.

Unsure of what exactly to do next, she extended a hand to the boy. He stared at it. Then he stared at the stone in her chest. Then he exclaimed, “OHMYGOSHHII’MSTEVENANDICAN’TBELIEVEI’MGETTINGTOMEETANEWGEM! CONNIETOLDMEALLABOUTYOUSORTAOVERTHEPHONEBUTIHAVEAMILLIONQUESTIONSLIKEYOURGEMISRAINBOW-COLOREDSODOESTHATMEANYOUHAVEMOREPOWERSTHANSINGLE-COLOREDGEMSANDISITTRUETHATYOU...”

Bismuth blinked. Didn’t humans have to breathe? Was that something that had changed? Also, the humans in Empire hadn’t talked like this. If this was the local dialect, she was probably going to need to avoid the town. She looked for motion in her peripheral vision, hoping to see the bathroom door open. How long did humans need in the bathroom, again?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The picture of Bismuth and Connie came from BurdenKing and MJStudioArts.
> 
> So, MJ, BurdenKing, and I aren't the only people to ever think of swapping the core characters of Steven Universe around. However, one of the good people on the Connie Swap Discord called to our attention something wonderful: [Animatic-Cross' Own Swap'd Screen Redraws!](https://zazil-monster.tumblr.com/tagged/connieswap)
> 
> With permission granted from the artist, I'd like to share them here. It wasn't 100% clear if this was a case of convergent evolution (artistically-speaking) or if there was some cross-pollination going on, but either way, it's really freakin' cool!
> 
>   
>   
>   
>   
>   
>   
> According to the artist, their headcanon regarding this AU is:
>
>> "Here are the important points of this headcanon:  
> Connie's mom is a yellow quartz, she was strict and firm, but she was interested in taking care of the planet earth and believed that all gems had the right to choose for themselves.  
> Connie is daughter of Yellow Quartz (Mrs maheswaran) and Doug Maheswaran.  
> Peridot, Lapis and Jasper were the most loyal alies of Connie's mom.  
> Steven is 100% human, son of Rose (human) and Greg, they are a lovely and an ordinary family.  
> Connie has a giant wolf instead a lion.  
> In this headcanon Pink and Blue diamond are alive and Yellow is missing.  
> Peridot take the role of Pearl, Jasper of Garnet and Lapis of Amethyst."
> 
> You can visit their [Tumblr page](https://zazil-monster.tumblr.com/) as well as their [Deviant Art page](https://monster-cross.deviantart.com) if you're interested.
> 
> * * *
> 
> And so we come to the conclusion of _Only Yesterday_. Per our schedule, we'll be taking the upcoming week off from the main fic, though br42 will undoubtedly release some omake content next Wednesday. However, tune in the Wednesday following, July 4th, for the start of **Episode 24: Gems-ology, The Collection**.
>
>>  
>> 
>>  
>> 
>> At first Peridot, Lapis, and Jasper were the only gems in Connie's life. Now there's quite a few more. Connie and Steven spend some of their summer with each of them, old and new. A collection of stories about a collection of gems.
> 
>   
> 
> 
> * * *
> 
> If you have a Connie Swap story burning in your soul that you want to see in our official, curated Omake collection, drop us a comment either in the Omake fic or here in the main fic and we'll get in touch.
> 
> Connie Swap has an official Discord for the fans. [Come check it out.](https://discord.gg/RQMDdhr)
> 
> As usual, we'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments and your asks at the [Connie Swap Tumblr](http://connieswap.tumblr.com/). Thanks for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Keeping track of all the updates to Connie Swap can get a little difficult, can't it? It doesn't have to be! If you go to the [Connie Swap Series](http://archiveofourown.org/series/630527) page and click the " **Subscribe** " button then you will receive an email alert every time a new episode is posted or a new chapter is added to _ANY_ fic in Connie Swap.
> 
> One button. All the updates.


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